Twisted Fate
by slytherclaw91
Summary: A presumed dead grandfather, a father's ex, and a half-brother show up on your doorstep. It isn't some soap opera plot but the strangest day in Faye Cassidy's life. All she's ever wanted is more than two place settings at the dinner table. How can that happen when she has to deal with an old family feud and discovers that she may be the reason for her grandfather's demise?
1. The Family She Never Knew

"Miss Cassidy, we've been over this a hundred times."

The haggard biology teacher, a middle-aged man who resigned himself to the fact that his only legacy would be getting a high school class to pay attention for more than five seconds, pinched the bridge of his nose before glancing at the young girl across from him. She had been standing in front of his polished wooden desk for the past ten minutes in the same position, arms crossed over her neatly pressed white button down shirt and a steely gaze, a fire blazing in her pale blue eyes, that could make anyone feel small. Her phone was turned to silent though the screen lit up every few minutes with a new message from one of her classmates.

"I cannot change your grade." In most cases, he was saying this to a student who had done poorly on one of his admittedly difficult tests but Faye was a special case. "You already have a perfect score."

"But I got all the extra credit right. Five questions worth five points each so you should be giving me 25 extra points. That's how extra credit works."

"The extra credit is for students who may need a bit of a boost in their grades, not someone like you," he explained, having déjà vu as he remembered this exact conversation for the past three tests. Unlike those times, his best student was refusing to back down. "You can't get higher than 100%"

"Then why do we have the saying 'Give 110%'? Technically, you're wrong, sir."

Dr. Garner would have grinned at her witty remark but he was longing for his special armchair and a night of relaxation, his few hours of freedom from the classroom. "Miss Cassidy, surely your friends or your father must be wondering where you are by now. Wouldn't you rather be enjoying the lovely day outside?"

"And I will when you change my grade. I'll remind you that I run the fastest mile in my gym class so I'd make it to the door and lock it before you even got out of that chair. I'm prepared to wait here as long as it takes but I bet you want to rest after a long day of trying to teach a bunch of bored teenagers who would rather gossip about the latest celebrity scandal than listen to your riveting discussion on mitochondria."

The following five minutes were a battle of wills, Dr. Garner hoping that she would eventually cave in out of desire of being with her friends. A slow, quiet ticking from the clock on the wall broke up the tense silence.

"Give it here," he said, reaching for his red pen.

Knowing she had won, she handed him the test booklet, 100% written across the front page. He crossed it out, replacing it with 125%.

"I'll input it in your file when I get home. You do understand that this changes your grade in no way, yes?"

"It's the principle of the matter, sir. Thank you," she replied, placing the booklet in her backpack.

Taking a glance at the clock, Faye hurried out of the classroom, waving back at her classmates who were staying after for sports or other activities. She joined the end of a short line for the bus stop around the corner. As she waited to board, she checked the messages from her friends, ranging from upcoming parties to homework questions. There were also a few from her father, including the usual reminder that he would stop at the grocery store after work, but that was soon followed by an odd text.

 _Don't stop at home. Meet me at Luigi's. I'll explain when you get here._

"Help me."

She retrieved the headphones from her backpack and in the middle of untangling them, she noticed the man in front of her, mid twenties with perfectly coiffed blonde hair, was eyeing her up and down. Attending Davenport Academy had both its advantages and downsides. Its reputation alone was enough to get any kid into the best colleges and if it were not for the full scholarship thanks to her grades, Faye could barely afford even one textbook.

The problem was the required uniform: the blue plaid skirt that stopped far above her knees, the white button down shirt that did little to hide her slim figure, and short heels making her look like some kind of schoolgirl fantasy. Four years of those same looks, whether it was on the bus or as she walked to class, taught her to simply ignore them.

Putting the headphones in her ears, she clicked on one of the playlists, turning the volume up high, and followed the line onto the bus. She sat at her usual spot in the back, still feeling the man's eyes on her.

"You know it's not real. It's not. Things that are real. Puppies, gravity, Ryan Gosling…" she whispered.

Just when she was about to signal the bus to stop, the pizza parlor to her left, her eyes flickered to the man. He looked as if he was about to stand up himself but stopped when she lowered her hand. After several minutes, she stepped off the bus with a dozen other passengers, despite the stop being several blocks from her home. The man continued to follow her down the street, keeping a short distance between them, but she managed to lose him by pretending to enter a nearby café.

Not bothering to wait to see if he left the café, she walked towards her apartment building and sneaked into the side alley. She climbed up the fire escape and through the window that led into her living room.

"Help."

Turning the volume up on her phone, the music practically pounding in her head, she grabbed a bottle from the cabinet in the bathroom and swallowed two thin white pills. For a moment, she heard a low rustling sound but she passed it off as one of her neighbor's cats roaming the halls. Her phone lit up with a series of texts from her friend Sophie about their calculus homework.

Lying down on her bed, she started to do the homework herself, tapping her pencil against the book in rhythm to the music that was now slightly lower. Her door creaked open and a dark-haired boy, no older than eleven, walked in, his hands stuffed in his coat pockets. He jumped at the sight of her.

"H—hi. Do you…do you live here?"

"Well, unless those are your girl scout ribbons on the wall, I'm pretty sure I do," she said, pointing at the tall book shelf with various trophies and ribbons. "Is your name Faye too? Sorry but here, there can only be one so we might have to fight to the death to decide who keeps it. Fair warning, I'm the reigning champion for the past seventeen years."

His lips curved into a small smile. "My name's Henry."

"Well, you're not a very good robber so I'm guessing you're one of the kids Mrs. Gorski's babysitting. Did she try to get you to eat her raisin cookies? Some advice? She hides the good ones in her bear jar." Faye closed the textbook. "Let's get you back there before she calls the cops."

As she got up from her bed, ignoring his protests, she heard a loud crash. "Wait here," she whispered.

She grabbed one of her miniature soccer trophies, thinking that actual robbers were inside her apartment. Tiptoeing down the hallway, she listened to a man and woman yell at each other, the man having a thick accent.

"Please, Bae, just let me talk."

"I have no interest in talking to you. Go."

Instead of a pair of robbers, her father was in the living room with a blonde woman in her late twenties that greatly resembled one of his ex-girlfriends, Emma, and a middle-aged man with dark brown hair that was mostly grey, dressed in a crisp black suit and leaning against a gold headed cane.

"I'm not going anywhere," the older man insisted, determined though the guilt was written across his face.

"Get out of my apartment!" her father shouted, looking uneasy.

Faye had only ever seen him this shaken one other time, shortly before he decided to break up with Emma and move to Canada. "Dad?" she asked, breaking the awkward tension in the room.

Three pairs of eyes fell on her, all with different expressions. Her father's face was as pale as a sheet, his hands shaking slightly, and for a brief second, he glanced at the older man in fear. Emma managed a weak smile and halfhearted wave and the older man gaped at her as if she was a ghost.

"What are you doing here? I told you to wait for me at _Luigi's_."

"I needed my—what's going on? Are you in trouble? Is that why Emma's here? Is this like an intervention where your loved ones come to help? Is he an ex or something? I didn't know—" The older man was still staring at her in shock. "Not that I have a problem with it. My dad just never mentioned you before but you called him bae and I just assumed—I'm rambling now. Is he sick?"

"I'm not—"

"Because if you are, Chace's dad can help us pay for any treatments and I'll skip clubs and practices if I have to so I can be there for you. You don't have to do this alone."

Her father gently pushed her towards the front door. "I'm not sick, okay?" he assured her, cupping her face in his hands. "You just can't be here right now, champ. Don't worry. Get us a table at _Luigi's_ and I'll be there soon. We'll get any toppings you want and you can tell me all about your day."

"Neal," started Emma.

"Emma, I got this."

Faye was at a complete loss at the situation, listening to the man accuse Emma and her father of knowing each other. She assumed they arrived together but now it seemed he was clueless about their past relationship and he had hired Emma to find him. Henry entered the room, just as confused as her, and in minutes, Faye had gone from worrying that her father had some terrible illness to learning that she had a half-brother and for some reason, he was calling him Baelfire. Distraught, her father watched Emma follow Henry up the fire escape.

"You look very much like her…your grandmother."

Her father stepped between her and the older man. "Don't talk to her. Don't even look at her," he hissed.

"I have no intention of hurting your daughter. All I want is a chance to be heard. You came back to protect Emma…to show that she had lived up to her end of her bargain with me."

"And now she has. You can go," he said, keeping Faye behind him.

"No. Our deal was for her to get you to talk to me. If you truly want her deal to be fulfilled, you have but one choice. You have to talk to me."

Her father swallowed hard. "You've got three minutes." He turned towards Faye. "He'll be gone after that. Don't worry."

"But—"

"I promise I'll be right back."

Faye sat on the couch for what felt like an eternity, still clutching the trophy. She was unsure which return would be more awkward, Emma and Henry or her father and the mysterious older man. Fighting the urge to eavesdrop outside her father's bedroom, she was startled by a series of loud knocks on the front door. She peeked through the peephole, the man from the bus standing out in the hallway.

Each knock made her heart beat out of her chest. The man ceased knocking after a few minutes and placed something on the floor before disappearing down the staircase. She reluctantly opened the door and was surprised to find her bracelet, several charms dangling from the silver chain. Not realizing that it had fallen off, she picked it up from the floor and clasped it around her wrist.

"You okay, champ?"

"Are you?" she asked her father, seeing the tears in his eyes. "What happened?"

"Nothing important. Why don't you get your bag? When Henry gets back, we can uh walk around the city, get to know each other…"

"Grandpa can't come too?" Her father stopped in the midst of picking up the fallen nightstand. "I would've realized how much you look alike a lot sooner if you hadn't always told me that he was dead."

"Faye, I know how this must look to you but believe me, it's complicated. He's not someone you want to consider family…someone who abandoned me and left me to fend me for myself when I was even younger than you. You're better off not knowing him. Go get your bag. I want to hear how you finally broke down Dr. Garner. Forget that he was ever here."

Despite the gut feeling that her father was not telling the whole story, she simply nodded and headed back to her room. Her grandfather was standing by her desk, holding an old picture of her with her parents. She struggled between heeding her father's words and wanting to give him a chance. Her grandparents on her mother's side hardly acknowledged her, considering her a stain on their family tree, and at best, they sent her money on her birthday. The last time she had seen them was at her mother's funeral and for all these years, it was just her and her father.

His head snapped up at the sound of the floor creaking beneath her heels. "She passed away when I was four. It was about a week after my birthday."

"My apologies. I shouldn't have intruded."

"Not many places to go if you want to avoid my dad. I'm guessing your talk wasn't that great."

He placed the frame back on her desk. "Are all these yours?" he asked, his dark eyes passing over her trophies.

"Well, unless my dad had another kid without me knowing and gave her the same name…sorry, my dad says I get my bad sense of humor from my mom." The faintest smile graced his lips. "Do I really look like my grandmother?"

"A spitting image of her when she was your age. I see you inherited her talent for drawing as well," he said, looking at the many hand-drawn pictures pinned to the walls. "She'd get lost in her own little world, drawing for hours at a time."

The tangled web of awkwardness followed them out of the apartment, with Faye stuck in the middle. Her father refused to so much as look in the direction of her grandfather and held a bit of a grudge against Emma, who never planned on telling him about Henry. There was also a slight tension between Emma and Henry for that very same reason.

The five of them were sitting in a booth at a nearby bar and grill for dinner, with Henry, Faye, and her father on one side and Emma and her grandfather on the other. Any attempts to defuse the tension were met with silence or a quick change in conversation.

"Are you guys dating or something?" Faye wondered.

Emma choked on her root beer, her eyes flickering to Henry and her father who were choosing music on the jukebox. "W—what? No, we uh—heh, we are not a couple. Why would you think that?"

"Why else do you keep dodging when I ask how you know each other? I'm sure it would be weird to tell my dad that you're dating his dad now. Not that it's totally weird. My friend Sophie has a thing for older guys too but that has to do with pissing off her strict parents."

"We're not dating. I told you I used to be a bailbondsperson and now I'm a sheriff. Your grandfather just happens to live in the same town. I didn't know he was looking for your dad until today."

"Were you really not going to tell him about Henry? I didn't realize the breakup was that bad. I mean, I was six at the time so I wouldn't know all the details but—"

"It's complicated, Faye," she said, gripping her glass tightly.

"I'm hearing that a lot today."

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" her grandfather said, looking like he was seconds from a heart attack. "I want to know more about you."

Her grandfather was interested in all aspects of her life, even subjects as boring as her classes. For the first time, she had a relative other than her father who wanted to hear about science fairs, spelling bees, and soccer championships.

"What are we talking about?" her father asked, returning to the booth with Henry.

"Just how Faye must never sleep," joked Emma. "Straight As, varsity athlete, head of dance committee, and class president?"

"Co-president. I technically won the election but the other guy's mother complained about how they donate like a million dollars every year to the school so the principal said we both won. Barrington Grayson doesn't understand the word no," said Faye, dipping a fry in her milkshake.

The awkward tension soon returned, with one word responses and long silences. Her father immediately shut down any further attempts for her grandfather to talk to her, as if he was afraid of Faye being brainwashed into some evil minion. She was saved from the increasingly uncomfortable meal, thanks to a text from Sophie about a 'mega crisis'.

"I'm leaving now, Soph. I'll tell you all about the family drama when I get there. Seriously, we could be our own segment on Dr. Phil. I don't know why he's being so weird."

The next day was not much better, with her father refusing to discuss the odd coincidence of Emma and his own father living in the same town. He only seemed interested in getting to know Henry as a way of making up for the lost years, even if it was for just one more day. Her long list of suspicions only grew when she spent all of her lunch period searching for any references to Storybrooke, Maine while half-listening to the various conversations amongst her friends.

As she walked up the staircase to her apartment, she thought of different ways to confront her father. "Dad, I know you're lying. No, that's too aggressive," she muttered. "I know you want nothing to do with your father but I feel like you're not telling me everything and that hurts because I don't like having secrets between us. That's good. Just do the puppy dog eyes and—"

Her worries about confronting her father were the last thing on her mind when she opened the door to the storage closet and instead of finding stacks of cardboard boxes and crates filled to the brim with cleaning supplies, toys, and other belongings, there was a dark-haired man, his right hand tied to the radiator and the side of his head caked with blood. After taking in his possible obsession with black leather, she noticed that he was attempting to loosen the zip tie with a blood-stained metal hook.

"Thinks she's so clever, doesn't she? I've been tied up worse than this," he muttered, continuing to scratch at the plastic.

"Wow and here I thought the weirdest part of my day would be watching that video of a water skiing dog." His pale blue eyes grew wide as he turned his head toward the doorway. "Judging by the outfit, you're Cal's latest competition. He must really want that part."

"Milah?" he whispered, speaking with what sounded like a British accent.

"Uh no, it's Faye. That accent's way too good to be fake so you're definitely here because of Cal. His accents are usually hit or miss...mostly miss." She loosened the zip tie, freeing his hand. "Pretty sure you missed the audition already. He was shouting all week about it if someone so much as shut a door too loudly. Maybe they'll give you another chance. I mean, you went all out with the costume. If you want, you can get cleaned up in my apartment."

The man stared at her in disbelief. "The handsome, silent type, huh? No wonder Cal thought you were a threat. Okay, blink once for no and twice for yes." No response, not even half a blink. "You must be awesome at staring contests. Trust me, you shouldn't stay in here. There's a 99% chance that Cal bombed that audition and he'll take it out on you."

Just getting him out of the storage closet was more of a challenge than she anticipated with his reluctance to so much as look at her and his limp. The way he recoiled at her touch, she wondered if he was a germaphobe. His odd behavior kept piling up once they were inside her apartment, from how he observed the bathroom sink with curiosity before she showed him the knob for the water to his general confusion over something as simple as a light switch.

In the middle of cooking on the stove, her phone vibrated on the counter, a picture of her and her father making funny faces on the screen. "Hey Dad. I just got home. Dance committee took a little longer than I thought and Coach Williams made us stay two hours late at the gym so we decided to get some pizza after. Are you out with Henry? I managed to get that Avengers comic he wanted from Owen. All it took was a promise to do his physics homework for a month but it could've been worse."

"Faye, I don't have a lot of time. I just wanted to um—something happened."

"Is everything okay? Did you and grandpa have a fight?" she asked, thinking that all the pent up emotions boiled into a heated confrontation. "Did you punch him?"

"Wh—first of all, don't call him that. He's um—he was having some heart trouble so I drove him, Henry, and Emma back to Storybrooke in Tamara's car. I didn't think it would be good for him to get on a plane. I'll be here for a few days, just a chance to get to know Henry better."

"Do you want me to drive up there too? Just send me an address or—"

"No! I—I um—there's no need for that. I'll work something out with Emma so he can visit. You shouldn't miss school."

"Well, it's the weekend and I'm sure the teachers won't mind if I miss a day or two."

"No, you worked hard to get into that school, Faye. I want you to stay there." ("Neal, we're here," she heard Emma say in the background) "I'll be back soon. Love you."

As she placed her phone back on the counter, She wanted to believe that her father was telling the truth, that he was helping his own father in a time of need. A small voice in the back of her mind was chipping away at the optimism, reminding her that he had been acting strange ever since yesterday. There was no evidence of Storybrooke and the fact that both her grandfather and Emma lived there seemed too farfetched to be pure chance.

"This is your father?"

The question snapped her out of her paranoia. Turning away from the stove, she saw the man holding one of the picture frames of her and her father at the zoo.

"He speaks. Uh yeah but he's out of town for a few days so you don't have to worry about him freaking out over you and your man cleavage." His eyes, filled with remorse just a moment ago, flickered to his open, hairy chest. "He didn't have time to go to the market either so you're trading in one nut for another. Instead of tying you to a radiator, I cook you very healthy food. Cauliflower rice and mushrooms. You can blame my friend, Sophie. She's on this health kick and I promised to do it with her out of BFF solidarity."

Faye poured the rice into two separate bowls. "So do you have a name or should I keep calling you Jack Sparrow like I've been doing in my head for the past ten minutes?"

"Killian Jones," he replied, with some hesitation.

"Wow, it sucks that you missed that audition. That even sounds like a pirate name." She grabbed a pair of forks from the drawer. "Arr, I'm Killian Jones, the most fearsome pirate on the high seas, and this be me trusted parrot, Crackers and me first mate, Peg Leg Pete," she said in a gruff voice.

"What pirate has a parrot? My first mate was named Mr. Smee. Your perception of pirates in this land is rather odd."

She left the bowls by the stove and leaned across the counter. "I think _you're_ odd. Either that or you're one hell of a method actor. What's your deal? You've been looking at me weird ever since I found you in that closet. Have you never been around a girl before?"

"Of course I have," he said, indignantly. "I'll have you know, I've been around my fair share of—you're not the first lass I've seen."

"You thought I was another girl. Do I look like an ex?"

"I am rather famished. Would you kindly—"

Killian's voice faltered as she stared into his eyes with a fierce determination. It was much like when she faced off against Dr. Garner over a grade change.

"Maybe Cal didn't tie you up in that closet. Maybe you're just some crazy guy who saw me around the city and decided to tie yourself up for a chance to talk to me."

"I'm not some mad man! Swan tied me to that strange contraption to prevent me from enjoying the sight of the crocodile taking his last breath," he hissed, a frenzied joy in his tone.

"Sw—are you talking about Emma? How do you know her?"

He immediately went quiet again. She remembered the strange expression on his face when he was holding the picture frame.

"You know my dad, don't you? Are you from Storybrooke? Why didn't you go back with them?"

"Back? Why would they—no, they're too late," he mumbled, running his fingers through his dark hair. "It was foolproof. The poison would've taken him by now. The crocodile won't win this time."

He limped towards the front door but she easily caught up with him before he made it down the first step.

"Out of my way!" he snarled.

She pressed the wooden stirring spoon against his chest, refusing to be intimidated despite the fact that he towered over her. "Back the hell up before I shove this so far up your backside that you cough up wood chips. You're limping and talking crazy so it's probably not a good idea for you to walk around alone. Where's your car?"

"My _ship_ is at the docks."

"Your—let's just go. My neighbor Mrs. Gorski never drives her car because she thinks the government can make her crash with just the push of a button so she won't even notice that it's gone."

Her mind was reeling with a million questions as she drove the grumpy, possibly insane man to the harbor. She started and erased multiple texts to her father, unsure of what to even ask him.

Instead of getting into one of the many cars, Killian paced back and forth along the docks, muttering to himself. With each passing minute, more and more people were whispering about the homeless Captain Hook impersonator. Growing impatient, she stepped out of the car.

"What the hell are you doing? You said your car was here. Did that bump on the head give you amnesia?"

"My ship's gone."

"Your sh—look, it's cool that you're so passionate about acting but newsflash, you're not actually Captain Hook." His fist clenched. "You didn't fly here from Neverland on your little ship. You know what might be the truth? That you're some psycho stalker who made me lose the chance to know the only other family I have besides my father and my arrogant grandparents who treat me like dirt on the bottom of their shoes!"

"You're better off without knowing the crocodile. You shouldn't consider him family."

She scoffed. "You sound just like my dad. Why should I listen to a psycho like you?"

"Because I've known him for a long time. He's a demon."

"He cares about me."

A rage brewed inside her at the sound of his wry chuckle. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's a coward who uses people. He would've used you to get back in your father's good graces. Play the part of the loving grandfather to prove that he's changed…that he's a better man. You're just another pawn in his games. It worked well enough to get your father to race him back to Storybrooke in hopes that it'll save him. You played your part, love."

Her fingers curled so tightly around her keys that it drew blood. If his harsh words did not confirm at least some of her suspicions, she would have ditched him at the docks to fend for himself.

"Get in the car."

"I am not getting back in that carriage," he said, sounding as if he was experiencing a war flashback from just looking at the sleek convertible.

Deciding to play along with his delusion, she sighed. "You think your ship is in Storybrooke, right? How do you plan on getting there? Are you gonna swim? Because let's be honest, no one is going to drive you all the way there when you look like a reject from the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ ride. You know where it is?"

"Aye, I have a map." He eyed her warily. "Why are you willing to help me?"

"It just happens to be a win-win situation. I'm not saying I believe a word you say. You're wrong or you're right but either way, we both get what we want. Get in the car."

Whenever she imagined her first cross country road trip, she thought it would be with her closest friends, not some stranger with questionable ties to her family and Emma. After such a long day, all she wanted to do was fall asleep in her bed but her curiosity kept her awake.

Just as they entered Maine, she stopped at a nearby gas station. "You want anything? You've been pretty quiet this whole time, besides the occasional glances over at me. What kind of chips do you like?"

"Chips?"

"Oh, are we still playing this game? What did you and your pirate buddies eat in Neverland? I'm not entirely sure but my guess is that they don't sell dead squirrels. It just hasn't caught on yet."

He was not amused by her jokes. "I'm not a savage. Why have we stopped? Every minute that passes is a minute closer to the Dark O—"

"Because cars can't move without gas, genius. I've been driving for the past seven hours and since you don't have a license on you, I need some food in me before I fall asleep at the wheel. Don't start pillaging while I'm gone."

Faye walked towards the convenience store, thanking the man who held the door open for her. While choosing a few snacks, she decided to be petty and grab her father's favorite chips. If he continued to lie to her, she would crush the bag right in front of him.

She had just finished paying for the snacks when she heard a series of shouts, followed by a loud _smack_. Killian pinned the man from before to the hood of the car, his hook digging into the man's stubbly chin. His sleeve was slightly pushed up, revealing a tattoo (a heart with _Milah_ across and a dagger piercing it) on his wrist.

"Is that guy dressed like a pirate?" asked the girl behind the register, pushing her dark blue hair out of her eyes.

"Heh, that's my uh brother. He's making me go to this convention in Maine with him. He likes to get into character when he—you know what? Keep the change." She left a twenty dollar bill on the counter and hurried outside. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"As discussed, mate. I believe you owe the lass an apology." He tightened his grip on the man's arm. "Or shall we do this another way?"

"I'm sorry," he sputtered, struggling to look up at her.

"Now get in your carriage and leave this place. Be glad I'm showing you mercy."

The man nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to his car, where another man was peering out of the passenger window in fear. Killian's satisfied smirk fell as he caught sight of the stern look on her face.

"You should be thanking me. That man deserved far worse."

"What, did you hear one too many pirate jokes and just snap? Did he say you should cut back on the guyliner?"

"He was staring at your backside and saying vulgar things about you to his friend. He said he'd enjoy—it's not something a young woman should ever hear in proper conversation." With a quiet scoff, she tossed the plastic bag into the backseat. "You're not upset by this?"

"It's called being a girl."

"All men treat you in this way in this land?"

"Oh, they don't have pervs in England? Like you're not thinking the same things as him."

"Of course not," he said, offended by the very idea.

"Then why do you keep sneaking looks at me?" He remained silent, dropping his eyes to his boots. "If it's not because you want to get in my pants, then good. You're not my type anyway."

The GPS in her car soon became useless and she needed to rely on his maps for the rest of the trip. Judging by the increasing amount of trees, the town appeared to be in the middle of nowhere.

"You're a spitting image of her." The sound of his voice, quiet and hesitant, snapped her out of own thoughts. "Your grandmother. You asked why I kept looking at you so strangely. That's why."

"My grandfather said the same thing. You know her from Storybrooke?"

"No, long before that. It's why I was in shock when you opened that door. I thought you were her. It seems silly but perhaps I thought I'd never get myself free and I hoped to see her face one last time."

"But you called me M—did you use to hook up with my grandmother?" she asked, her tone a mix of surprise and disgust. "I mean, no judgement on the whole older woman thing. My friend Sophie's into that too. Not older women—well, one time but—getting off track here." She spotted a _Welcome to Storybrooke_ sign. "Is that why you hate my grandfather? Did he find out about the affair and she went back to him?"

His nostrils flared. "He's truly messed with your mind if you think she chose him over _me._ I spent centuries searching for a way to get my vengeance for what he did…for taking her away."

"Centuries? What are you—"

As she drove past the town line, a sharp pain paralyzed her right arm, soon spreading to her head. It felt like a hammer beating against her skull. Killian's voice sounded as if it was a thousand miles away and the last thing she saw before blacking out was the car careening into a tree.


	2. Welcome to Storybrooke

Faye sat up straight, feeling something wet slip off her forehead and into her lap. Her heart beating fast, she picked up the warm rag. The last thing she remembered was driving straight into a tree but instead of her car, she was laying on a twin bed, a slight rocking sensation beneath her. Her eyes darted around the room: the pale wooden walls, adorned with mermaid carvings, all sorts of books and other strange objects, and a single lantern hanging from the ceiling.

Killian climbed down a wooden ladder in the corner, a metal box tucked under his arm. "You had me worried for a moment there. I was beginning to think you weren't waking up. You've been out for hours."

"This isn't my car," she said, still in shock. "Where are we?"

He placed the box down on the table in the middle of the room and unlocked it with the tip of his hook. "The Jolly Roger, of course. You got jostled around a bit from the crash but I managed to find my way to the docks and here she was, thankfully without a scratch. Can't say the same for you but living as long as I have, you learn all sorts of things. No need to worry, love. There won't be any amputation today." His grin faltered as he glanced back at her. "Merely a joke. That was my poor attempt at humor."

"We're on a ship." She closed her eyes tightly before opening them again, expecting to find herself back in her car or at least a hospital. "We're on a ship."

"Aye. I'm sure you must be starving. Eat up," he said, indicating a cup of blue jell-o and a spoon on the windowsill. "One of the healers gave it to me after I had an incident with a metal carriage myself. I gather it has great medicinal properties."

"It's just—" She caught a flicker of concern pass over his face and grabbed the cup and spoon.. "Totally. Jell-o is like super medicine here. So uh why didn't you take me to a hospital instead of your…ship?" she asked, the words sounding even crazier than in her head.

"If the Dark One managed to survive, can't have him knowing I've found my way back. Besides, you weren't too badly bruised. I'll have to clean that cut again." Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a flask. "The rum'll sting but it's the best I've got at the moment. I haven't been in this land long but I've picked up on a few things. I won't tell anyone if you want a small sip to help with the pain."

Faye carefully tugged on the wrap on her right arm, the same one that had been hurting before the crash. Instead of a nasty gash, all she saw was her tanned skin.

"What cut?" She tensed up as his fingers brushed over the spot where the wrap had been moments ago. "Maybe you need to lay off the rum. I think you're imagining things."

"Strange," he whispered.

"You sure _you_ don't need the hospital?" Pushing back the blanket, she jumped down from the bed. "I'm guessing you didn't move the car so I'll need to find a mechanic before I look for my dad. I appreciate you helping me out so I uh won't tell him that you're here."

"I think it's best if you rest, at least for a couple more hours."

"I just want to know what the hell is going on because right now, it feels like a really crazy dream. Thanks for the jell-o."

After staring at his ship for ten minutes, waiting for it to vanish or turn into a giant rubber duck, she left the docks, unsure if the crash had messed with her head. Storybrooke was certainly not as big as Manhattan. It looked like a small, quaint town, nothing out of the ordinary aside from realistic pirate ships. She walked towards an auto repair shop, where someone was working on the underside of an old car, a toolbox by their sneakers.

"Excuse me?" A dark-haired boy not much older than her, dressed in a muscle tee and jeans, slid out from the car, a wrench in his hand. "Hi. You work here, right? I mean, you obviously do but I didn't want to assume…I'm rambling."

Wiping the grease from his hands with a rag, he stood up, flashing her a charming smile. "Hi rambling."

"That's funny," she said, stifling a laugh. "My name's Faye."

"Marcus," he replied, after a brief pause. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"Oh, I don't live here. I was actually looking for my dad and uh had a little accident by the town line. I was hoping you could help."

"You drove into town?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Uh yeah, is that weird or something? I mean, this place is almost impossible to find so I guess you don't get a lot of tourists. So about the car…"

"I'll see if I can help you out. When my boss gets back from lunch, I'll tell him about it and we'll assess the damage."

"That would be awesome. Let me put my number in your phone so you can call me about how much it'll cost and stuff."

Reaching into his jeans pocket, he handed her a phone. The last thing she expected was a flip phone, especially from someone who looked like they graduated a few years ago.

"Wow, I thought these were extinct. You and my dad would get along great."

She added her number into his contacts. "Thanks for helping me out. It was nice meeting you."

He smiled again, placing the phone back in his pocket. "Trust me, Faye, the pleasure was all mine. If you need someone to show you around, I'd be happy to give you a tour of the town. It's a lot bigger than it looks."

"I appreciate that but I'm just here to talk to my dad. I'm not about to ruin my perfect attendance record. Plus if I miss the game against Donner Prep and we lose, I will run in front of the nearest bus. He's lucky it's the weekend."

The more she explored the town, in search of her father, the more she noticed strange little things. Men passed by with pickaxes, the technology looked like it never left the 80s, and unless the car crash made her delirious, she heard people whispering about evil queens and curses.

"Well, this looks like a good place to start," she said, stopping in front of one of the shops.

A sign hung above the door: _Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer_. She remembered her grandfather telling her about the shop, one of the only things he mentioned about Storybrooke. As she gripped the door handle, she immediately retracted her hand, feeling a slight burning sensation. She pulled her sleeve over her hand before attempting it again and stepped into the shop.

"Anyone here? Grandpa?" It was filled with all kinds of trinkets, from an antique tea set to a pair of creepy puppets. "It's Faye. You know, the granddaughter you didn't know existed until two days ago."

As she peered through a dusty spyglass, she heard a soft creaking sound. A girl, looking about the same age, was standing behind her, digging through a small wooden box on the counter. Her leather jacket, combat boots, and ripped jeans were in stark contrast to her doll-like features, especially her platinum blonde hair. She muttered to herself in anger, tossing several vials to the floor.

"Hi."

The girl nearly dropped the box at the sound of her voice. She looked at Faye as if she just realized she was not alone in the shop.

"Do you work here?" Not saying a word, the girl turned her head from side to side faster than a hummingbird flapping its wings. "Uh we're the only ones in here so I'm pretty sure I'm the one who said that. I'm looking for—"

"How can you—how did you get in here?"

"Well, it was hard. Prepare to have your mind blown. I uh turned the knob and walked inside. It wasn't locked or anything." The girl circled her like a lion about to attack its prey. "I'm kind of starting to think that you're robbing the place so I'll make a deal with you. You tell me if you've seen my grandfather and I'll pretend I was never here."

Her vibrant green eyes passed over Faye in disbelief. They lingered a bit too long on her plaid mini skirt and white cashmere sweater.

"You're the Dark One's granddaughter?"

"The Da—okay, that's weird. Is that a nickname or something? I'm kind of on a tight schedule so I'll go look somewhere else." Faye opened the door. "Oh, I uh like the pink tips."  
Instead of relying on the odd townspeople, she decided to use something a little more trustworthy. She traced Henry's location with an app on her phone and headed into the woods. Several minutes passed before she spotted him running through a clearing, his dark hair matted to his forehead and his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Henry?"

"Faye!" he said, excited yet out of breath. His arms wrapped around her waist. "You're in Storybrooke. He said he wasn't going to tell you yet but he must've changed his mind. He told you the truth."

"Wh—"

"We have to hurry. We don't have a lot of time."

"Henry, wait!" she shouted as he sprinted deeper into the woods.

Faye was about to follow him when she felt a sudden chill along her spine. It was as if someone was spying on her between the trees. Shaking that uneasy feeling, she continued down the trail, finding him near an old well.

Unzipping his bag, he pulled out dynamite and a box of matches. "Hey, hey. What the hell are you doing?" she said, taking the dangerous explosives from him. "Are you insane? I'm new to the whole big sister thing but I'm pretty sure this is a giant no. If you want to blow something up, we'll make a volcano. That's safe and doesn't risk your hand getting blown to pieces."

"It's how we're going to fix everything, Faye. I know why Neal didn't want to come here. He was scared about being around magic again." She looked at him like he grew a second head. "But if we get rid of it, then he'll want to stay and my mom can't cast the curse and maybe my family can start getting along. Magic is what's making them crazy."

"Okay, you know magic is just pretend, right?" Henry shook his head. "I mean, I won't lie. I spent a few years waiting for my Hogwarts letter but it's not real. Whatever's going on with your family and Emma mentioned it's complicated…blowing up wells isn't the answer. The answer might seem that simple but these things take time. They won't become best friends overnight."

"It is real, Faye," he said, snatching the dynamite back. "But it won't be around for much longer."

"Henry," she heard.

An older woman with short dark hair was standing at the edge of the clearing. She stepped towards the well, wanting him away from the dynamite. Henry, his imagination still running wild, insisted that she only wanted to stop him because she needed the magic for her 'curse'. Faye's eyes widened as the dynamite vanished from the well, moments after the woman flicked her wrist.

"How the hell did that happen?"

The woman glared at Faye. "Who are you? What are you doing near my son?"  
"Oh, you must be his other mom. I'm—"

"I am his only mother and this is a private conversation."

With another flick of her wrist, Faye was lifted off her feet and sent flying away from the well. She waited to slam into cold, hard ground but instead, she landed with a soft thud. As she pulled herself up, ignoring the stinging pain in her palm, she found herself face to face with the girl from the pawn shop.

"Not my best but at least you didn't land on your head. Magic works differently in this realm. It's annoying."

"How—wait, did you follow me?"

"Uh no," she said, as if the very idea was insane. "Why would I be doing that? I was on my way to the bridge when I saw you talking to Regina. That's an easy way to an early grave, especially when it comes to her son."

"Well, he's my brother." The girl grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Going against Regina for round two? She'll rip out your heart right there. Besides, your hand's cut."

She delicately brushed her fingers over the shallow cut on Faye's left hand. In a matter of seconds, it healed, no sign of blood or a scrape.

"Thanks."

"Can't get blood all over your pretty little sweater"

"Henry, get out of the way!"

Recognizing her father's voice, she headed back towards the well. Henry was in the middle of the weirdest fight she had ever seen: her father, Emma, and another man with a gun on one side and Regina on the other, holding a ball of fire. At the sight of Faye, her father looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Not wanting to get thrown like a rag doll again, she stayed near the trees, listening to Henry plead with both sides to not hurt each other. The man lowered his gun once Regina burned a small scroll and the flames were extinguished from her hand. She vanished from the well in a cloud of purple smoke.

Sensing the awkward tension, Emma suggested a meal at _Granny's_ , a local diner. As the waitress handed them menus, Faye waited for her father to say a single word but he seemed far more interested in the lunch specials. Henry tried to distract her with a game of i spy.

"You're really good at this," he said, taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake. "It's your turn."

"I spy a lying liar in an ugly scarf who lied to his daughter for her entire life because he obviously doesn't care about her feelings." Her father guiltily looked away from the menu. "Yeah, you heard me. It's ugly and it deserves to be set on fire. You wear it all the time and it annoys the hell out of me. See, that's called telling the truth. I know that might be a foreign concept to someone like the lying liar across from me. Oops, I guessed for you, Henry. My bad."

"Faye—"

"What else were you lying about? Your n—oh wait, your name isn't real either, I bet. That's why Henry called you Baelfire. Want another truth bomb? That's a lame name. What's next, are you really king of the fairies? Maybe that's why you named me Faye, as some inside joke."

"I'm not a fairy. Faye, I didn't want to lie to you but—"

"It was for my own good? Let's keep the clichés coming."

"I think we'll uh go pick some music on the jukebox while you two talk."

Emma led David and Henry over to the jukebox. Not willing to let her father change the subject, Faye stared at him intently, her arms crossed.

"It _was_ for your own good. You're right that I wasn't going to tell you, Faye. I don't want you to be part of this world. Magic isn't like in your books. It's dangerous. Your grandfather is a prime example of that. He was corrupted by magic and I wanted you as far away as possible."

"Well, too late."

"How did you even know how to find Storybrooke?"

"I tracked your phone," she lied, thinking off the top of her head. "It took like two seconds. Did mom know too?"

"No, your mom wasn't—she was from here, born in New Orleans. That's how much I wanted to keep my past hidden."

When most parents keep secrets from their children, it's something shameful like committing a petty crime or a child from a previous relationship, not the fact that they were from a completely different land and actually centuries old. Her father explained that he and everyone else in Storybrooke, aside from Emma and Henry, had grown up in the Enchanted Forest. Faye thought her head might explode with all the talk of ogre wars, dark curses, and magic beans.

The reason for the estrangement from her grandfather was that he had abandoned her father, letting him fall through a portal to another realm when he was only fourteen. From there, he ended up in Neverland for centuries and managed to escape, just a few months before meeting her mother. Storybrooke was created by a curse cast by Regina, leaving its inhabitants with false memories for twenty eight years, and Emma was meant to break that curse, which had only happened a few weeks ago. Her father knew about Storybrooke for years but was too afraid of facing his own father again.

"Told you it was complicated. Believe me, I wanted to tell you and your mother about all this a long time ago but it's hard to figure out where to start. If you hadn't seen Regina use magic yourself, you'd think I was insane."

"I get it. I didn't mean what I said about your scarf."

He slid into the booth beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You get one free pass, champ."

"We all good now?" asked Emma, returning to the table with Henry and David, the man that was somehow her father despite being the same age. "I know it's a lot to take in, trust me. It took me a long time to accept it and I still have trouble."

"We're just glad that Regina didn't hurt you, Faye," said David, as the waitress placed a series of plates on the table. "Hopefully, things will be getting back to normal around here, as normal as they can be anyway."

"Get out."

Her eyes darted around the crowded diner. Everyone else was either deep in conversation or busy eating their own food. Putting down her veggie burger, she excused herself to the bathroom.

"You're not real." Her hands gripped the sink so tightly, she thought it might break in half. "You're just in my head. You're not here. When I open my eyes, all I'll see is the wall and nothing—"

Her voice caught in her throat at the sight of a older man with his shoulder-length brown hair. She noticed spots of dried blood on his red sleeveless puffer vest.

"You're not safe here. You need to leave. She'll kill you too."

"You're just in my head," she repeated.

Her heart nearly stopped when he grasped her wrist and she could feel his dirt-stained fingers on her skin. "You're not safe. Leave."

"Faye?"

She reached for the closest thing to her but instead of the man, she was about to hit Emma in the face with a bottle of hand sanitizer. "Whoa, slow down there, ninja." Seeing Faye's hand tremble, her grin faltered. "Hey, you okay? Do you need your meds?"

No longer seeing the man, she placed the bottle back on the sink. Emma carefully gripped her shoulders.

"Did you run out? I'm sure your dad has a spare bottle. I can go get them, if you want. Whatever you're hearing or seeing, it isn't real. It's all in your head."

"T—they're not working. I—I want to go home."

"Okay, let me talk to your dad. I can take you back."

"No. That's not fair to you. I can just—"

"Faye, it's not a problem. I know he wants to get to know Henry a little more and sometimes, I need a break from this place. We'll get you to your doctor and he'll help you out."

Emma proved to be an expert liar, telling Henry that Faye needed to return to New York for school. While he was giving her a hug goodbye, promising to visit her, Emma and her father were having their own private conversation.

"You'll tell me if something is wrong, right, champ?" her father whispered, giving her a one-armed hug. Faye nodded, trying to maintain a brave face. "It's just a rough day. You always get through them."

She waited by Emma's yellow bug, the voices subtly getting louder. "Faye, here you are." Marcus walked towards her, no longer covered in grease. "I was trying to call you before but I guess your phone was on silent. We just brought your car into the shop. That must've been a pretty bad accident. Surprised you didn't need to go to the hospital."

"It looked worse than it was…" She counted backwards from 100 in her head, a way to distract herself. "How is it looking?"

"Well, it'll take a few days. That offer for a tour is still on the table. I see you've already found _Granny's_."

"Actually, I'm um heading back home." He frowned slightly. "I uh have this huge project to work on and my dad always says school comes first and Regina almost took off my head so I think he wants me out of here until all this craziness dies down."

"So he told you the truth about the town, huh? That's good. I'm sure it was a little hard to believe at first but I doubt Regina would hurt the dark one's granddaughter again. That's like poking a sleeping dragon."

Faye looked at him, puzzled. "How did you know that?"

"Oh, word travels fast. Everyone knows about Hook poisoning him and his son coming back to town so I just assumed since you weren't from around here either…not hard to put two and two together."

"Sorry, I guess I'm a little paranoid." Emma left the diner, holding her keys. "You can tell my dad when the car is fixed. I don't need him freaking out so if he asks, just say it was a broken tail light and I'll handle the money."

"Hey, no worries. For someone who just survived her first encounter with Regina, it's free. I know how to keep a secret."

The drive out of town was quiet. Faye attempted to downplay how bad her hallucinations had gotten, only ever being this relentless the day of her fourth birthday, while Emma did not want to bombard her with questions.

"So what were you and Marcus talking about?"

"My neighbor's car had a broken tail light and he offered to fix it. He said it wouldn't cost anything."

"That was nice of him." Faye playfully glared at Emma's amused smile. "I've never really seen him talk to anyone. David said he always kept to himself, even back in the Enchanted Forest."

"He was just being nice," she insisted, knowing it was likely more than a friendly gesture. "Besides, he's not really my type. Could you do something for me?"

"Are you not comfortable in the front seat?" Emma asked, concerned. "Do you need to lie down?"

"No, I—I'm fine." Faye retrieved a folded up piece of paper from her purse. "Could you give this to someone? I actually was kind of hurt when Regina used her magic but this girl helped me out. I never got her name. She has blonde hair with pink tips, really pretty green eyes, looks like she could kick your ass…"

"Melanie? How did she—I didn't know she had magic. Well, we've never really talked except when I caught her tagging the outside of the mayor's office one night. Pretty sure she threatened to key my car if I tried to take her down to the station again but sure, I'll give it to her. What's—"

Faye suddenly lunged forward in her seat. It reminded her of her crash earlier in the day but there were no trees in their path, just the town line. She followed Emma out of the car and watched her place her step over the painted line with ease. When Faye was about to do the same, she was knocked back by an invisible force.

"What's going on? I thought you were able to leave the town because you were never cursed. I wasn't under a curse either."

"Might be one of Regina's tricks, to make sure Henry doesn't leave again."

"But it let _you_ leave."

"Yeah well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind that. Let's call Gold. When it comes to magic, he's the expert."

Seconds after Emma called, her grandfather appeared in a cloud of red smoke. Faye was reluctant to even speak to him, thinking about everything she learned at the diner. His arms wrapped around her and for a moment, the voices were silent.

"Faye, how did you know how to find Storybrooke?"

"Tracked my dad's phone."

"You shouldn't have been wandering on your own. It's dangerous."

It was hard for her to imagine him as some fearsome wizard. Walking towards the town line, he held out his hand and she watched as a barely visible shield appeared, shining in silver light. The shield vanished when he waved his hand.

"This doesn't appear to be Regina's magic but perhaps she found the spell among Cora's belongings."

"Can you get rid of it?" asked Emma, crossing her arms.

"It'll take time. It's a complex spell."

"We're kind of in a hurry, Gold. Faye needs to—she has school. She can't tell her teachers that she's stuck in a random town because of magic."

"No, she can't. Care to tell me the real reason you're in such a rush to leave? You only just got here."

Faye avoided his gaze. "My medicine isn't working," she muttered.

"Well, until I find a way to reverse this spell, why don't you come back to my shop and I'll whip up something to soothe the pain?"

"Gold, I don't think that's—"

"Surely you don't want to see her in pain, Miss Swan. My son may have his reservations about magic but right now, it is the only way to help her. If you are that concerned with her being near me, then I will bring her back to the inn when I'm done. Is that satisfactory?"

In the blink of an eye, Faye was inside the pawn shop. She would have started freaking out if she wasn't dealing with dozens of voices practically screaming in her head. All of them said the same things: _Get out, leave, not safe, run_. Her grandfather conjured a chair for her by the desk where he had equipment that looked like a mix between a chemistry lab and a potions classroom.

"I would never dare to harm you, Faye. I do hope you know that."

"I—I do. I just—my dad told me a lot of things and everyone else seems pretty scared of you too. I don't know what to think. I don't really have experience with family members having magical powers."

"I would want you to form your own opinion of me." He picked up a vial of blue powder. "I'll admit that I've done my fair share of terrible things in the past but I am trying to be a better man. Perhaps that starts with making up for my mistakes with your father through you."

She watched him pour the powder into a beaker. "So you're like the most powerful wizard ever?"

"Some may think so," he said, with a chuckle. "My powers were given to me through a curse. I may be able to do incredible things but it is still a burden, one I've carried for centuries."

"Could you use magic to make my illness go away forever?" He glanced up from the beaker that was now smoking after adding more ingredients. "If you want points in the good column, that's one."

"I imagine it must be difficult for you but all magic comes with a price, Faye. It isn't one I would want you to pay. For now, this potion will simply lessen the symptoms until I find a way to lower that barrier. How long have you had this affliction?"

"Well, they didn't diagnose me until I was seven but it was happening before then. My dad and the teachers thought I just had an overactive imagination. Sometimes, I thought my mom knew the truth. She always knew how to make it stop."

As he continued to make the potion, she walked around the shop. She looked over at a tattered leather-bound book on the counter, near an antique lamp. It was opened to a page on memory spells.

"Is this a spell book?" she asked, excitedly. "Like real spells?"

"Yes, I have many."

"You're trying to find a way to save your girlfriend? She still doesn't remember anything?"

"I'm afraid not but hopefully soon, her memories will be restored. If I may ask, what have you been hearing or seeing?"

"Just a bunch of voices in my head. I saw a man in the bathroom too. He looked like an older Marty McFly…you know, the guy from that old time travel movie? It wasn't like the other times. For a second, I thought I could feel him actually touching my wrist. Hey, does this price thing still happen if you do something small like make a guy wet himself in the middle of a presentation? Just wondering."

Imagining Barrington Grayson peeing himself in history class, she picked up the spell book. Her hands suddenly felt like they were on fire, similar to when she first opened the door to the shop, but it soon faded, replaced with a slight tingling sensation. She flipped through the book, reading about the various spells.

"Faye." He snapped her out of her own daze and she realized that the voices had completely stopped. "Be careful with that. Some of the spells happen to be inside the book and even those without magic can release them. I don't want you conjuring an ogre in the middle of town. Faye, did you hear me?"

She placed the book back on the counter. "Sorry, I uh zoned out. Is the potion ready?"

"Just about." He poured the dark blue liquid inside a small vial. "Here we are. This should quiet the voices and there's plenty more if you need it. Well?" he asked, as she drank the potion.

"All better." She hugged him. "Thanks so much, grandpa."

"No thanks needed. I suppose I should get you back to the inn. Your father must be worried."  
"Actually, could I stay here longer? I mean, he doesn't really know how long potions take to make, right? You could just say it took awhile. It's not like he'd let you near me if I wasn't sick and you said you wanted to make my own opinions about you so here's your chance. You can tell me more about you…about your magic and prove that it isn't all bad."

He stood up, leaning against his cane. "No more than an hour. I don't want your father to worry."

Faye felt like a kid in a candy store. She probably seemed foolish, geeking out over the tiniest spells, but it only made her want to know more about magic and the Enchanted Forest. After an hour, just as he promised, he walked her back to the inn.

"I know which room he's staying in. You don't have to walk me up there. He probably won't like that anyway."

"I understand. You have the potions?"

"In my bag. I'll come to you if I need more."

Once he disappeared around the corner, she sent a text to her father, telling him that she was hanging out with other kids she met when she first arrived in Storybrooke. She headed over to _The Rabbit Hole_ , a local bar. To her surprise, no one was guarding the door to check for IDs. Melanie, the girl she had met in the pawn shop, was sitting at one of the tables, rebuffing the advances of a lanky, ginger-haired man in his twenties.

"It's not your night, Eddie. It'll never be your night so just walk away before you embarrass yourself even more."

As he walked off to pursue another pretty girl, Faye sat down at the table. "You're here," Melanie said, her a tone of mix of surprise and what almost sounded like joy. She leaned back in her chair. "I heard Regina messed with the town line and you're stuck here. Daddy lets his little princess out at night?"

"He doesn't know I'm here. I'm Faye, by the way."

"Of course you are. Why are you here?"

"Because I'd figure you would be." Melanie pointed out that it was a stereotype. "And calling me princess isn't?"

The corner of her lips twitched up for just a brief second. "Fair point. Emma gave me your note. Didn't make any sense," she said, taking it out of her jacket pocket and unfolding it onto the table.

Faye's note had a drawing of the forest. Several arrows were pointing in two different spots, one of them shaped like a well and the other a bridge.

"You said you were on your way to the bridge before but I had to read a map of Storybrooke for hours and I have a photographic memory. The well's nowhere near the bridge, unless you're taking a half hour detour."  
"I was enjoying the nice weather," she said, her fingers curled around her half empty glass. "Maybe I like looking at nature. The little birds, the squirrels…"

"Sure."

Faye's simple reply made the blonde girl's eyes narrow. "What are you getting at, princess?"

"Nothing. My note also said that I owed you a drink for helping me out. What do you like?"

"You're not drinking with me. You'd probably go down after half a drink and if people see me dragging your little body out of this bar, they'll start talking and then I'll have the Dark One on my ass. I don't need him bothering me."

"Is that why you snuck into his shop before? You didn't want to just ask him for that box?"

"If you mention that to anyone, I'll—" Faye held up a small pouch. "What the hell is that?"

"Open it."

Melanie snatched the pouch from her. Turning it upside down, three white lilies landed in her palm. She stared at the flowers for several minutes.

"How did you know I was looking for these?"

"Well, he was showing me around the shop and I wanted to see what was so interesting about the box. I just had a hunch and scooped them up when he was showing off some ring. You must really like flowers. So, about that drink."

Their conversation was interrupted by a woman bringing over a tray of shot glasses, all filled with different drinks. "Looks like you've got some admirers," she said, with a subtle wink.

"Not a surprise," mumbled Melanie. Her cheeks turned almost as pink as her tips as Faye looked up from the tray. "You're the cute new fish in the pond. They'll start swarming you like sharks by the end of the night."

"Faye."

Marcus walked towards the table, holding a beer. "Oh look, it's one of the guppies who thinks he's a shark," she said, mockingly.

Judging by his flaring nostrils and clenched fists, they were far from friends. He feigned a smile in front of Faye.

"Melanie, you're here too."

"He noticed me," she said, putting on a Southern accent. "The greatest knight of the Enchanted Forest noticed me. Oh, happy day. Now I can see the gods are smiling down at me. Aren't we so blessed?"

"Not starting any fires?"

"The night is young, grease monkey."

"Charming as ever. Faye, if you want, you can sit with me and my friends."

"Yes, bore her with stories of how you used to be useful. That'll charm the skirt right off her."

"I'm okay, Marcus," said Faye, sensing the rising tension. "Melanie helped me out before so I promised her a drink and now we have a lot."

"Uh wrong. _I_ have a lot. These aren't your normal little drinks, princess. They used to be but now that magic is back, we can have our special drinks again and you'd go down in two seconds."

"Bet I won't. If I can handle it, you let me stay," she challenged.

Marcus warned her that drinks in the Enchanted Forest were a lot stronger, due to their magical ingredients. Wanting to prove that she was not some dainty little girl, she picked up one of the glasses.

"Uh you really shouldn't but I can see you're determined. Why don't you start with something safer? The one on your left has some enchanted mistletoe berries in it."

"What about this one?"

Melanie grabbed a similar glass. "Whiskey mixed with just a hint of dragon venom and pixie dust."

"Pixie dust? Seriously?"

"You're better off with a chocolate milksh—" Faye downed the glass, instantly feeling like her head was floating. "Okay, that was very fast."

"There's your princess, bitch." Both Marcus and Melanie were taken aback by her harsh words. "Sorry, I'm a really competitive person and I don't always channel it in the best way. I say mean things, hit someone in the back of the head with a soccer ball…"

"You are something else, princess," said Melanie, sounding both amused and impressed.


	3. A Complicated Family Tree

"Something the matter, lass?"

A week had passed since Faye arrived in Storybrooke. Her grandfather was no closer to finding a counter spell for the town line than when they first discovered the invisible barrier. Though she missed her life in New York, being stuck in the quaint town had its advantages. It allowed her to get to know her family: a cursed grandfather who nearly everyone feared, an almost grandfather who was only twice her age and looked like he jumped off a magazine cover, and an adorably optimistic half-brother.

Her father was in no rush to return to New York himself, enjoying the time he spent with Henry. He remained unaware of her visits to the docks or the pawn shop, thinking that she hung around with the other teenagers in Storybrooke. Faye still found herself amazed by the tiniest things, like a waitress named Ruby being a werewolf or a shrunken giant.

Tearing her eyes away from the naval book in her hands, she looked at the curious Killian. "Just thinking. I still don't get how this whole curse thing works. They kept going day after day but no one could see Storybrooke except Emma. Did Regina build some delivery empire over twenty eight years to get food and everything?"

"From what I understand, it was simply magic."

"But this is a land _without_ magic. It doesn't make sense. Sorry, I'm just trying to understand all this. Sorry about the fruit cup too. It's not the best breakfast but _Granny's_ doesn't have a lot of healthy options."

"It's better than surviving on rum," he said, picking up a slice of pineapple with a fork. "Though I do wish you didn't risk your father's ire, or worse, the crocodile's, with these visits. It's only a matter of time before he realizes that I've returned."

"I can handle them. Besides, I'd rather not be around my dad right now. His uh fiancée is coming today and let's just say we don't get along. Tell me more about Neverland."

 _Hey, Tamara's on her way. Hurry back, champ._

 _Everything okay? Did you get lost?_

If it were not for the endless barrage of texts, she would have spent more time on the Jolly Roger. Listening to Killian's stories was like having her childhood books come to life.

The moment she gripped the door handle to the inn, a chill ran down her spine. It was a sign that her worst nightmare was on the other side of the door, its fingers digging further into her father's neck with each passing day. Taking a deep breath and balancing a paper tray under one arm, she stepped inside, greeted by the sight of her father, Emma, Henry, and the harpy herself in the lobby, surrounded by drinks and bagels.

Melanie was leaning against the doorway, a knitted drawstring bag slung over her shoulder.

"You're looking for Faye?" her father asked, surprised. His eyes passed over her dark ripped jeans and pink tips. "I uh didn't know you were friends."

"Well, I'm not here for this awkward moment. Is she upstairs, the little birds helping the peppy princess get dressed?"

"Hey," interrupted Faye, before her father, looking offended, could respond. "Sorry, I tried out this new path in the woods so my usual two hour run turned into three. Hey Emma, hey Henry."

"Of course you don't sleep in like a normal person. Who wouldn't want to get up at six in the morning?" Melanie glanced at her extended hand holding a cup of coffee. "What's that?"

"Coffee, skim milk, two sugars and a blueberry muffin," she said, shaking the bag on top of the tray. "You were totally eyeing it at _Granny's_ yesterday. I'll just change and then we can go."

"Uh Faye, someone else is here too."

Just hearing him mention _her_ soured Faye's mood. She stuffed all of the negative emotions and mean thoughts in the back of her head.

"I'm not blind, dad. I'll text you when I'm on my way back."

The tiniest smile tugged at her lips when she heard Melanie stifle a laugh. She hurried up the staircase, not bothering a passing glance into the lobby, and into her room.

"It's open." She turned towards her father, holding up two cardigans, one dark blue and one white. "Which do you like better?"

"I've never been much of a fashion expert. Where did all these uh clothes come from?"

"Grandpa." He bristled at that one-word reply. "He knew that I wasn't planning on making this a long trip so he used magic to bring my closet here. Magic's awesome."

"Not always."

"Relax," she said, placing the white cardigan back in the closet. "It's just some clothes. I'm not asking him to slaughter my enemies. Not that I would mind Grayson getting sent to Siberia."

"You know I'm not trying to replace your mom, right?"

Faye dreaded the impending conversation. If time travel was possible, she would have just greeted Tamara with a fake smile, all to avoid one of her father's lectures. She kept her eyes on the closet, pretending to still search for an outfit.

"I'm kind of in a rush. Can I get changed?"

"Right, yeah. We'll talk after."

As he shut the door behind him, Faye opened the window and gathered the sheet on her bed, tying one end around the nearest bed post.

"Is this how they make the beds in New York?" Melanie was standing by the dresser, watching her triple knot the sheet with amusement. "What's next, do you throw everything on the floor?"

"My dad wants to lecture me and I'm not in the mood to hear another 'Try to get along with Tamara' speech. Just climb down the rope. It's not a far drop," whispered Faye, tossing the other end of the sheet out the window. "Are you afraid of heights or something? Go."

"As entertaining as all this is, I have a better idea."

With a wave of her hand, they landed in the middle of a dark alley. Faye was still getting used to the idea of magical travel, moving from one place to the next within seconds. The silver smoke lingered and as it passed through her fingers, a tingling sensation traveled up her arm.

"It's just Everett. He's easy to distract and he won't want to come back empty handed so we'll have at least an hour to—are you listening to me, princess?"

Faye snapped out of her daze. "Yes, cupcake."

"I'll tell him that—" Melanie stiffened for a moment. "What did you just say?"

"You call me princess so I'm gonna call you cupcake, cause of your hair. It's like frosting."

"You call me that again in public and I'll kick your ass, you hear me?" she threatened, closing the gap between them.

"Loud and clear," replied Faye, taking the drawstring bag from her. "Never in public."

"I meant—shut up." It was rare to see her so flustered. "Go back to drinking your fancy latte and wait here until Everett leaves."

Though they were no longer in the Enchanted Forest, many of the townspeople clung to their old lives, particularly the knights. Both Regina and David were bolstering their sides, from what Melanie said, having them practice day and night in preparation of an actual fight. When they were not sparring with wooden swords or exercising at the gym (at different times of course, to avoid any confrontation), they were like little spies for their respective sides.

Marcus and the other 'Charmlings' (Melanie's nickname) kept eyes all over town, in case Regina planned another attack in the wake of her mother's death. Her own knights did the same, listening for any signs of rebellion and bringing any news to her, no matter if it was a credible threat or just an offhanded remark from a disgruntled waitress at _Granny's_.

Everett was one of Regina's most loyal knights and certainly the youngest, considering he was only a year older than Faye. Melanie, who had intel on everyone in town, explained that he was kind-hearted yet very naive, seeing Regina as a replacement for his horrible excuse of a family, and Regina used that loyalty to her advantage, knowing very few people suspected him of any wrongdoing. His twisted idolization made him eager to please her, whether he was a knight or an assistant in the mayor's office.

"Everett, this is a surprise."

The blonde-haired boy continued to stand like a statue at the entrance to the Town Hall. He reminded Faye of those guards outside Buckingham Palace.

"Why is that a surprise?" he asked, not even bothering to look at Melanie. "Regina asked some of us to stand guard by her office and I volunteered."

"I just thought you'd be too busy with your head wedged up her backside."

"I made an oath to protect my queen. I wouldn't expect an urchin like you to understand that. You only care about yourself."

Melanie shrugged. "When you're right, you're right. Speaking of your queen…" He was not amused by her use of air quotes. "I was just at _The Rabbit Hole_ , looking for my missing keys, and I heard some people talking. Something about making Regina pay for all the pain and suffering, karma and all that. It was only like five minutes ago so I bet you can still catch—"

The words _Regina_ and _suffering_ were enough to get his attention. Treating Melanie as if she was invisible, he left his post on the steps and sped towards the bar. Faye followed her into the building.

"Won't he just come back when he realizes you made all that up?" she asked, as Melanie used magic to bypass the security system.

"It wasn't a total lie. I've heard people talk about getting justice. A lot of them weren't happy once our memories returned. You'd think the Charmings would at least ask the rest of us what we thought was best but nope, royals don't care about the opinions of the little people. Trust me, he won't be back for awhile."

"What if Regina shows up?"

"She's too busy watching your little brother from afar. Besides, if she does show up, I can take her."

Using the mirror to spy on the bar, where Everett was interrogating everyone from the bartenders to some college-aged kids playing pool, they moved around the office, setting up small booby traps. Faye placed a sticky substance from the pawn shop on the door handle while Melanie finished brewing a potion on the desk. She would not tell Faye its purpose, only that it was long overdue payback.

"It won't be ready for a few more minutes so out with it, princess." She sat on the desk, her legs crossed. "What was with the whole sneaking out the window thing?"

"I told you. I didn't want to get a lecture from my dad. It's the same as always. Get along with Tamara, try to be nicer, give her a chance, blah, blah, blah…"

"Aw, is someone not happy about their new mommy?"

"She's not my mom!"

Either Faye's mind was playing tricks on her or the floor shook beneath her feet. Melanie, who did not seem to notice the slight tremor, held her hands up in self defense.

"Okay, whoa, that took a turn. No need to send the forest animals after me. It was a joke."

Her words faded into the distance as Faye heard a soft rumbling noise. She flinched at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder and realized that she had somehow knelt down in front of the fireplace, her hand on one of the logs. That tingling sensation returned and she suddenly felt that if she let go, she would be miserable.

Melanie snapped her fingers. "Hey. Zoning out when we're in the middle of messing with Regina's office? Bad idea."

"There's something weird about the log. It feels funny." She placed Melanie's hand on the log. "See?"

"Feels like any piece of wood to me. This is why you don't get up before the sun. Let's get out of here before—seriously? Do you have an alarm that warns you when someone's trying to have fun?"

The spell on the mirror lifted, revealing her grandfather in the doorway. He stepped into the office, his eyes narrowed at Melanie. That murderous expression alone suggested some bad history between them.

"I've had an eventful morning. I was on my way to my shop when I saw a fight outside _The Rabbit Hole._ Young Everett believed that some men in there were conspiring against Regina. Apparently, you told him that and now I see you've roped my granddaughter into your shenanigans. Don't you get tired of causing trouble?"

"Ironic, coming from you," spat Melanie. "Still having trouble with the girlfriend? Honestly, she should see the memory loss as a blessing."

The veins in Faye's wrist became more pronounced and black as tar. Her heart practically leapt out of her chest as it spread up her right arm, her veins moving like a wriggling worm beneath her skin.

"Guys." Her voice was a mere whisper amongst their escalating argument. "Something's wr—"

As she turned away from the fireplace, she saw Regina at her desk, holding a glowing heart. Melanie and Marcus were oblivious to her presence, continuing to fling insults at each other. Was she using some sort of invisibility spell? Turning her back to the bickering pair, she leaned closer to the heart.

"Sheriff, our visitors are driving out of Storybrooke."

Faye wondered if Regina somehow managed to take Emma's heart and was using it to get to Henry. Before she could stop her, the door creaked open and someone else entered the office: the man Faye had seen at _Granny's_. Dressed in the same strange clothes, he watched Regina with the heart, puzzled.

"Find them before they cross the town line, pull the car over, and arrest the father for drunk driving. Then bring the boy to me."

"Gra—"

Faye had somehow found herself besides her grandfather yet it was not her. Her blue-green eyes held no warmth, looking almost lifeless. With one swift movement, the imposter plunged a curved dagger into his back. Falling to his knees, he cried out in pain, his cane at his side, and her eyes turned just as black as the veins all over her body.

"Grandpa!"

In the blink of an eye, the office returned to normal. Regina was no longer at her desk, speaking into a heart, the stranger was not standing by the door, and her grandfather looked perfectly healthy, leaning against his cane.

Faye flinched at his touch. "It's all right," he whispered, gently placing his hand on the small of her back. "Nothing to be afraid of…let's go to the shop."

Leading her out of the office, he threw a nasty glare at Melanie, who was silenced by that single look.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" he asked, placing a cup of tea on the table beside her.

Since entering the shop, Faye had not left the cot in the back room, her head between her knees. Her eyes were shut, in an attempt to erase any memory of those hallucinations. Her grandfather sat beside her.

"Faye, if you talk to me, perhaps I can help. I may not be a doctor but talking it out could lead us to an answer to the problem. What happened in Regina's office?"

"I saw him again, the same man that I saw at _Granny's._ It's not just him. I keep seeing these weird things that don't make sense. The things I'm seeing…they're different. You were arguing with Melanie and I saw the veins in my arm turn black and then I saw Regina at her desk, holding a heart."

"A heart?"

"Just like you told me. How people with magic can rip out hearts to control someone. She was talking to Emma about visitors leaving Storybrooke. I mean, it had to be Emma. She said sheriff and then the man showed up and heard her tell Emma to arrest someone but bring a boy to her. I guess she meant Henry. My hallucinations are never that vivid. Ever since I've been here, it's like—I'm going crazy."

She lifted her head as his hand gripped hers. "I don't want you thinking that way. Why don't you get some rest? I'll tell your father that you're here."

"Thanks, grandpa."

The pawn shop was the only place where Faye could have peace and quiet. All the voices and hallucinations stopped the moment she passed through the door and for once, she felt like a regular person, with no need for pills or potions. After a much needed nap, she stayed in the shop, learning about all sorts of magical objects from her grandfather.

He showed her a globe with the ability to track anyone in any realm, using the blood of a relative. It was how he found her father in New York.

"So you could find anybody? Do they have to be magical?"

"No. Who did you have in mind?"

"It would be cool to find other people from my mom's side of the family. I mean, they can't all be jerks like my grandparents, right? She mentioned having a few sisters and a brother but I never met them. Maybe they live close by and I don't even know it."

"Only one way to find out." He nodded towards the globe. "It doesn't hurt. Just a small prick, think of whoever you wish, and magic does the rest."

"Hey!"

Faye retracted her finger from the golden tip. Her father, looking livid, entered the shop.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You're using magic around her?"

"It's a harmless tracking spell, son," explained her grandfather, shapes forming in the globe on the counter. "You know I would never harm Faye."

"Actually, I don't. This is exactly why I didn't want her in Storybrooke. We're leaving."

Faye noticed several spots glowing on the globe, most of them congregated on a weirdly shaped continent and one looking like it was in the Northeast. Before she could get a closer look, her father pulled her out of the shop.

Her eyes followed him as he paced back and forth in the lobby. She opened her mouth several times, to break the silence, but each time, she decided against it, seeing that his anger towards her grandfather was still written all over his face. To make matters worse, Tamara joined them in the lobby, apparently in the loop about Storybrooke.

"Do you know how worried we've been, Faye? When I went in your room and just saw a sheet dangling out the window? What the hell were you thinking? Was it that girl's idea?"

" _That girl?_ Her name's Melanie."

"What are you even doing around a girl like that? Emma told me about her. She's not exactly going to soup kitchens on her days off."

"Says the guy who used to steal cars and rob convenience stores," muttered Faye, finding his disapproval of Melanie a bit hypocritical.

"Faye, we're just worried—"

"Who asked you?" she said to Tamara, all politeness gone. "I don't remember asking for your opinion."

"Hey, apologize right now." Rolling her eyes, she walked up the staircase. "Faye, get back here!"

Faye began stuffing clothes into her duffel bag, disregarding the balled up mess. Just as she went to leave, her father moved in front of the door. She contemplated ducking under his arm and sprinting out of the inn but knew that this conversation was overdue, long before Storybrooke.

"What are you doing? What is going on with you, Faye? Emma mentioned that Melanie has magic. Did she give you a potion or something? Did you see her wave her hand and then start feeling funny? Did your grandfather do something? We could ask the fairies."

"This has to nothing to do with them! I'm not under some spell."

"Well, you wouldn't know—"

"This has to do with _her!_ I know you want us all to get along but newsflash, it's never going to happen." He was taken aback by her blunt admission. "I am never going to be okay with any of it. It's not because I think you're replacing mom. It's because of _her._ I could be selfish and make you choose between the two of us but for some reason, you love her so I'll make it easy for you. When we get back to New York, I'm moving in with Sophie."

Her father chuckled. "With—you're not serious. You're not—Faye, you're seventeen. You're not moving out."

"I can't be around her. Just being in the same room makes me feel like I'm trapped in this tiny box and I can't make you forget all your feelings for her so for my own sanity and your happiness, it's for the best. Since we're still stuck in fairytale town, I'll find someplace else to stay."

"Faye—"

"And I know you have your issues with grandpa but maybe you should take your own advice and give him a chance."

Two days passed and Faye still refused to tell anyone about her new living arrangements. Her father checked all the obvious places, from her grandfather's home to Melanie's one bedroom apartment that she bought after the curse broke, to get away from her fake parents. She happened to be in the last place he expected: the Jolly Roger.

Killian was far from a typical roommate but he was surprisingly normal, aside from the whole pirate aesthetic. When she first arrived on the ship, bag in hand, he urged her to make amends with her father, until she threatened to out his presence in Storybrooke.

 _I'll be waiting in the park, by the benches._

Opening the door to the captain's quarters, she discovered Killian in the midst of a tense conversation with Melanie. A map of Storybrooke was laid open on the table, several spots marked with a red circle.

"That deal ended when you decided to side with Cora," said Melanie, her arms crossed over her chest. "I told you it would end badly. It's all about patience, which you lack."

"Perhaps twenty eight years has made you soft. Before the curse, you were as willing to destroy him as I, even more so considering what he took from you. The dagger was only one way. You claimed to have another. I'm all ears, love."

Faye purposely bumped into the door, the loud noise causing them to step back from each other. The map vanished with a flick of Melanie's wrist.

"Sorry, that's what I get for never looking up from my phone," she said, placing her phone in her back pocket. "Melanie, what are you doing here?"

"Why are _you_ here?" she shot back, a quick attempt to change the subject.

"This is where I've been staying. I'm the one that brought him back."

"Heh, not what I expected. Hook and I knew each other back home and he sent me a message to catch up. Twenty eight years is a long time."

"You just knew each other or you _knew_ each other?" she asked, her brow raised.

Killian chuckled. "Not in that manner, I assure you. She was quite the collector of rare objects and we crossed paths several times. Where are you off to, lass? I thought we could continue with that sailing lesson."

"I'm meeting Henry at the park for some tutoring. He needs all the help with math he can get but uh it shouldn't take long. We could do the lesson later. I'll let you two catch up."

On her way to the park, a million thoughts swirled inside her head. There was only one dagger they could be discussing: the one that gave her grandfather his powers. When he showed her around the shop, he mentioned it, a weapon capable of killing him. If someone stabbed him with the dagger, they would become the new Dark One, like he had done to save her father from fighting in a war.

A tiny part of her always knew that Killian would not drop revenge overnight. Impassioned pleas from her were not enough to forget centuries of hated and anger yet the worst part was that Melanie had some involvement in his latest scheme. Anyone with eyes could see the animosity between her and her grandfather and Faye knew better than to ask questions. Was some terrible event in the past enough to make Melanie willing to murder him?

Faye contemplated confronting either her or Killian directly but expected nothing more than laughter and outright denial. If she told someone, even Emma, about Killian's return, it would only lead to more conflict and at the moment, the town had their hands full with Regina and whoever attacked August, a former puppet turned real boy turned man turned back into a boy.

As she crossed the street towards the park, she spotted Henry but instead of a math book and pencil, he was holding a wooden sword and was not alone. Her father sparred with him, jumping on top of a bench to avoid a swing of the sword. She easily put two and two together, Henry using tutoring as an excuse to get her and her father in the same place in hopes of a reunion.

"That's another 100 for me. Pay up."

Grumbling, Ewan, a balding man in his fifties, handed her a crumpled hundred dollar bill. The balls on the pool table magically reset themselves, a spell cast by Melanie mere hours after Emma broke the curse.

"Up for another game, boys?" The four men looked skeptical, having already lost nearly five hundred dollars to the teenage girl. "Come on, I'm sure it was just luck."

"After ten rounds?" asked the burly Garrett. "You take us for fools?"

"I'm sure Regina can just poof you up anything you need. That's why you were watching me from the bar, right? She wanted you to keep an eye on me, to make sure I wasn't scheming to take Henry out of here."

"What makes you think we work for Regina?"

"Because when those guys at the other table were complaining that she's still walking around, you looked like you wanted to snap their necks. Plus you're terrible spies and I figure she doesn't exactly hire you for your smarts." Their silence was just as telling as the nervous twitch of their hands. "If you're gonna report all this to her, tell her that spying on his half-sister isn't going to win points in the good mommy department."

Turning her back on the former knights, she continued to play pool, conning other bar patrons into thinking she was terrible for a few rounds before beating them. She ignored the dozens of messages on her phone, unless they were from her friends back in Manhattan.

"You're really good."

A girl, with the bluest eyes she had ever seen and a lacy black bra peeking through her sleeveless top, walked over to the table. She handed Faye a beer bottle.

"I've been watching you scam these losers for the past hour. You'd think they'd catch on by now," she whispered, a hint of an accent in her voice.

"Too drunk to notice," replied Faye, taking a sip. "Or they're just really bad at pool. Maybe a bit of both. I don't think I've seen you here before."

"I was in the hospital for awhile. I'm Lacey."

"Faye." She placed her phone in her back pocket, despite it vibrating every few seconds. "Just family drama. My brother pretended to need help with math just so I would meet with my dad and when I'm mad, I either hit something or do math. Pool is a good combo of the two."

"Who cares about being mad when you're making that much money? What do you say we double it?"

Lacey proved to be good at pool herself. It was entertaining to watch her win over and over, especially the look on a guy's face when he lost fifty dollars. Leaving her to a game with one of the dwarves who lost his memory, Faye waited at the bar for drinks, tapping her fingers on the counter. She frowned when Marcus, in a black muscle tee and sweatpants, sat beside her, ordering himself a beer.

"Henry's very worried about you. He went looking for me at the gym and thought something terrible had happened…that perhaps Regina was involved. He was almost in tears."

"Sure about that? He's actually a really good actor."

"You figured out his plan at the park." Marcus picked up his beer. "I told him you weren't that easily tricked. He's the one who asked me for the swords. He thought that it would be good bonding time. Can you blame him for wanting you and your father to get along?"

"The world isn't going to end because I'm mad at my dad. What, are you here to force me back at the inn? I'm fine where I am, Marcus."

"And where is that exactly? You're certainly not staying with Melanie because she'd be tormenting him and your grandfather with that information."

"None of your business."

Faye glanced down at his hand over her wrist. She wrenched her hand away, feeling a small static shock, and grabbed the tray of shot glasses from the bartender.

"Like I said, I'm fine. Just tell Henry I had a stomachache or something."

Marcus moved in front of her. With the tiniest nod of his head, Eddie and a few of his friends, also fellow knights, stood up from their stools.

"I bet you faced a lot of crazy shit in fairytale land but nothing will be scarier than me if you don't get out of my way."

"At a time like this, you should be with your family, not fighting with them. It's exactly what Regina wants, to see you tear yourselves apart. Don't let her have the satisfaction. David wants this town safe and at the moment, you are high on her list of targets, just for being Henry's sister. I can't force you to make amends with your father but I also can't let you stay in some secret hideaway. Until Regina is dealt with, you can stay at Mary Margaret's loft."

"No thanks, I'm good." His feet were rooted to the floor. "I'll stay where I want to stay and you don't get a say in that. David's not my king or whatever. I don't care about Regina or this silly little feud.

"Because you're drunk. This is the last place you should be, surrounded by some of her own men who would gladly drag you to her office so she could use you as bait."

"Actually, I'm not drunk," she said, stepping towards him. "I can think very clearly and right now, I'm thinking about the very cute girl that I've been flirting with the past twenty minutes and how we could be making out but instead, I'm stuck here, listening to you. Good luck stopping Regina with the wooden swords. I bet splinters are her weakness."

Faye patted his cheek twice and headed back to the pool table. Lacey leaned against the table as Tom set up his shot.

She smiled, taking a shot glass from the tray. "Thanks. How'd you know I like whiskey?"

"Call it my superpower. How's it going here?"

"Oh, I think my luck's about to run out," she said, with a subtle wink.

"I must be your good luck charm. After this, we could play our game…just me and you. If you win, you get all the money."

"And if you win, you do?"

"No. You can keep it either way. I've got something better in mind."

As if the universe was conspiring against her, she saw her grandfather weaving through the small crowd. She quickly placed the tray on an empty table but was not fast enough to hide underneath it. An invisible force tugged on the back of her blouse, keeping her from crouching down to the floor.

"We'll discuss this later," he hissed in a stern tone. His expression softened when he looked at Lacey. "Belle."

No, no, no.

Faye thought she heard him wrong. Praying to herself, she turned her head, hoping to see another woman behind her but there was just the bare wall. Her eyes flickered between him and the younger, dark-haired girl who insisted her name was Lacey.

"Faye, come with me," he said, looking very shaken.

"Actually, I have homework to do. I know I'm stuck here but I don't want my grades to suffer and—" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Right, that wasn't a suggestion. That was—oh yeah, I forgot we had a thing planned. Slipped my mind."

She followed him out of the bar, still reeling from the short conversation. Her grandfather, teeming with rage, believed that Regina had cursed Belle with fake memories, a form of revenge.

"Are you uh sure that's Belle? Maybe she has a twin named Lacey and Belle is somewhere else."

" _That_ is her, Faye."

"She's really young." Forgetting his rage for a moment, he looked at her. "N—not that that's a bad thing. I mean, good on you. I just—when you described her, I imagined someone older, not someone who looks like _that_. You're not married, right?"

"No."

"Great. Not that—I bet you two have an awesome relationship so maybe you'll get married. That's not great. I just meant—I'm gonna stay here. If I go in with you, Regina might use me as bait."

"Yes, you can stay here," he said, clearly noticing her strange behavior. "And then we'll have a long talk."

"Yep, yep, long talk. Very long talk about why I was in a bar with your young girlfriend."`

"She can stay with me." Marcus was near the doorway, keeping a considerable distance between him and her fuming grandfather. "I can make sure she's in no danger, if you'll allow it."

"Thank you, Marcus. It won't take long."

Before Faye even had a say, he vanished from the sidewalk. She silently joined Marcus at the gym, where he and the other knights were having a training session. There were a million things she would rather be doing than watch grown men play with wooden swords. She was broken out of her own thoughts by the arrival of Melanie, who was holding a bag from _Granny's_.

"Are we related?" Faye asked, before she could even open her mouth. "Like, cousins or something?"

"No…wh—"

"Good. You can go away now. I'm mad at you and my grandfather is coming soon and if he sees you, I won't stop him from turning you into a slug."

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my converse. Mean princess is scary," she teased. She tossed the bag onto Faye's lap. "Fruit cup. Ashley tried to take the last one but I used magic to disguise it as a slice of chocolate pie. I know you heard me and Killian this morning."

"Heard what?"

Sitting beside her, Melanie explained that before the curse, she and Killian had an alliance, both interested in killing her grandfather for different reasons. Melanie was aiding him in finding the dagger and had even led him to Belle, who was locked in a cell in Regina's castle. Their alliance ended when he chose to side with Cora instead, thinking she was the better option.

"He thought Cora was stronger and could get him what he wanted a lot faster. He's not very patient when it comes to your grandfather. Maybe he was right to side with her. If he had been cursed like the rest of us, your grandfather would've killed him the moment he started to remember. I'm surprised he didn't do that to me, actually."

"Then what were you talking about on the ship?"

"He sent me a message last night, to meet up again. He wanted to try finding the dagger or going with our other plan. It was a lot crazier and very risky but he's desperate. He just wants to avenge the woman he loved, no matter the cost. Love makes people do crazy things. Why are you sitting out here?"

"Regina gave Belle fake memories and she thinks her name is Lacey. I think they're going to have a magic fight. I didn't know Belle was so young. Not what I expected at all. I mean, not that some pretty girl wouldn't like him but you know, he's not exactly a spring chicken. I just thought she'd be older, like closer to his age."

"Are you okay?"

"Totally." She opened the fruit cup. "Oh good, no blueberries. I hate those."

"So dear old grandpa left you with this loser brigade? They couldn't defend themselves against a chicken." Several men glared in her direction. "Just telling the truth, boys."

"No one asked for your opinion. What are you even doing here, Melanie?" asked Eddie, lowering his sword.

"Keeping this poor girl company. Forget balls of fire or getting turned into slugs. Making her watch you idiots is the real torture. If you're training to fight Regina, shouldn't you practice against someone with magic? I'll gladly volunteer."

It was the first time she had seen Melanie use actual magic, aside from healing a small cut or disabling a security system. She easily defeated the knights with a flick of her wrist. A giggle escaped Faye's lips when she knocked Marcus onto his back.

"Aw, is the wittle puppy hurt?" said Melanie, in a baby voice.

"You're not funny," he snarled. "You don't fight like Regina. It's not the same thing."

"Yep, I fight better. If you could hold your own against me, you might stand a chance but you can't even land a—" Melanie ducked as his sword went flying at her head. "Too sl—"

She staggered backwards, her hands over her nose. Blood began to seep through her fingers. Faye quickly moved between them, red sparks emitting from Melanie's fingers and Marcus rubbing his knuckles.

"Don't, don't," said Faye, grabbing Melanie's hands before she could cast a spell. "It was a jerk move. You don't have to slice off his head."

"I had something else in mind."

"Don't. Let's go somewhere else to cool off." She gave a thumbs up to the other knights, all stunned into silence. "Great job. Keep it up."

Marcus grabbed her wrist before she was halfway out the door. "Faye, you're not leaving. I told your grandfather I would keep you safe."

"Well, I don't feel very safe around you."

"Y—you don't mean that," he said, sounding like she stabbed him in the heart. "I would never hurt you. Look, I just—Melanie knows how to push my buttons. Everything going on has me stressed out, with David looking to me to lead and I…please don't leave. What if Regina comes after you? I'm sure the conversation between her and your grandfather didn't go well."

"Then Melanie can protect me. Don't follow us or anything. She looked ready to rip out your guts through your throat."

As she left the gym, Melanie was nowhere to be found. She began to text her when a familiar car pulled up to the sidewalk, the window rolling down to reveal Tamara.

"Faye, here you are," she said, relieved. "I've been driving all over. I thought she already got you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Regina. I guess something happened to make her snap and she tried going after Emma and your father. They're safe. Everyone's at the pawn shop. Your grandfather said he could protect them there."

"Why isn't my dad with you?" Faye asked, finding it strange that Tamara was coming to her rescue.

"He got hit pretty bad by a spell. He can barely walk and I offered. You have to hurry up and get in. Come on."

She hesitated before getting into the backseat. Unable to shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach, she texted Melanie to meet her at the pawn shop. Her uneasiness only got worse when Tamara drove right past it, continuing down the street.

"You just passed it." Tamara ignored her, checking a message on her phone. "Are you blind? It's right there. Turn around. Where are we going? You said my dad is at the pawn shop. What's—"

A sharp needle pierced her neck and in seconds, she fell unconscious, her phone slipping out of her hand with a message from Melanie flashing across the screen.


	4. Her New Home

_SLAM._

Her head spinning, Melanie lifted herself up, wincing from the pain in her ribs. She wiped the blood dribbling down her chin and found herself surrounded by Rumplestiltskin, his pathetic son, the 'heroic' Charmings, and their brainless knights. Emma held onto Rumplestiltskin's arm, preventing him from flinging Melanie into the wall once more.

"Gold, beating up a teenage girl isn't a way to get answers. We'll find her."

"Find who?" asked Melanie, looking at the seething Rumplestiltskin as if baiting him for a rematch. "Why the hell did you ask me to come here, sheriff?" Emma rolled her eyes at her mocking tone. "To just toss me around like a rag doll or—"

"Faye is missing." She stiffened at Neal's words. "She's been missing since yesterday when she was supposed to meet Henry at the park but Marcus told us that she wasn't happy about me being there too and he brought her to a training session. The last time he saw her, she was leaving with you."

"I haven't seen her. It's the _truth_ ," she insisted, hearing Marcus scoff under his breath. "She stopped me from beating up mini Charming here for punching me in the face." He glanced down at his sneakers, refusing to meet Snow's surprised gaze. "Yeah, don't think she'll be getting in bed with you anytime soon, Mr. Perfect. Punching a girl in the face isn't exactly a turn-on in any realm."

"Okay, so you were both at the gym and then what?" asked David, his presence the only thing keeping the knights from advancing on her.

"I waited for her to come out and she texted me to meet her at _Granny's_. Probably wanted to make sure pretty boy wasn't stalking us. I waited for like five minutes and then I went back home. I thought maybe the princess couldn't handle being mad at somebody or she wouldn't be able to summon the forest animals with a cute little song and she decided to make up with her daddy."

Despite her teasing, which soon sent Neal into a rage ("She thinks this is funny?!" he shouted, held back by a concerned Emma) and developed into a series of arguments amongst the adults, her stomach churned with a sickening guilt. A voice in the back of her head warned her from the moment she got that text, telling her that something was off and to wait for Faye to leave the gym. It only nagged her more as she waited outside _Granny's_ for hours, not the mere minutes she claimed, the bracing wind urging her to leave but her gut insisting otherwise.

If it were someone like Belle or Henry, she would easily suspect Hook, thinking it was part of some long-winded scheme. Rumplestiltskin had a long list of enemies, besides the one-handed pirate, but none would be foolish enough to anger him, except a desperate Regina. Did the former evil queen finally snap and decide to attack his granddaughter as revenge?

Emma managed to defuse the situation, suggesting that they search the town.

"I'll look at the docks," offered Melanie, hoping that she was just holed up in her room like some angsty teenager.

"After you're the reason she's missing? You thin—"

"Any help is appreciated," interrupted Snow, throwing a quelling look at Marcus. "Let's get searching. That barrier is still up so she couldn't have left town."

As she followed after Emma, who was whispering to a simultaneously angry and distraught Neal, the door shut with a snap. She spun on her heel, turning towards Rumplestiltskin. He was oddly calm, considering his precious granddaughter's disappearance.

"Quite the performance, dearie," he said, with a quiet chuckle. "No one else in this town knows you as well as I do so they're easily fooled."

"You're right. We know each other pretty well and to be honest, I wouldn't put it past you to have her locked in your basement. You'll wait a few days before she magically appears, a little banged up but nonetheless fine and it'll be a tearful reunion where she blames Regina. You'll have her think she was locked in her vault or something and then you get the Charmings to take Regina down for you and your son will think you're such a hero, not the beast who abandoned him all those years ago."

His dark eyes narrowed. "I would never harm a hair on her head."

"Why? Because she's your sneaky way of getting back in his good graces or because she looks like your dead ex-wife who, oh wait, you murdered? To be honest, I find it delightfully ironic. You crushed Milah's heart after losing your son and now you have to win the heart of a girl who looks so much like her to win him back."

"Where is she?"

"You tell me." She stopped a knife in mid-air from stabbing her in the eye. "You got the drop on me once but we both know it was luck."

"I know you have her," he snarled. "You think I don't see through this game of yours? What do you gain from it? I took away someone you love and now you do the same? The difference is that I can get Faye back while you—"

Leaning against his cane, he clutched his chest. He began to have a severe choking fit, his face slowly turning purple as he struggled to stand.

"Don't ever talk about her! You think I need the dagger to beat you? I don't. I could easily put you in the ground with the maggots like you deserve but I won't because of h—because I'm better than you. You're a weak, spineless cow—"

A force struck the back of her ankle, knocking her to the floor. He stood over her, no longer under her spell, and pressed his cane against her throat.

"Seems you still haven't gotten a good grasp on your magic here. Perhaps it isn't just the difficulty of being in another realm. Perhaps he has a hand in it, to keep you from causing a mess like you always do." Melanie fought back tears as he smirked. "All these years and you're no closer to gaining his forgiveness. I doubt you ever will…such a pity."

"I'll—"

"No, no, no need for you to talk, " he hissed, putting more pressure on the cane. "If I find out that you had a hand in all this, this little back and forth between us will be at a permanent end. I doubt my granddaughter would be so trusting if she knew the monster you really are, the one you can't hide behind leather jackets and colorful hair."

Smacking the cane away, Melanie vanished from the shop. "Jackass," she muttered, kneeling in front of the pond.

Her gaze lingered on a nearby family enjoying a picnic, the daughter sitting on her mother's lap. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she pulled out the knife from the pawn shop and sliced her palm, letting three drops of blood fall into the water.

"He'll probably punish me for doing this but it's important. I need to find someone. Her name's Faye Cassidy." The water remained clear. "Seriously? You're making _me_ pay? Wow, he got to you guys too, huh? Fine. You're lucky it'll heal."

Taking a deep breath, she raised the knife and drove it through her left eye. She bit her bottom lip to stifle her cries, her magic kicking in to quickly heal the damage, and as her vision returned, an image of an unconscious Faye appeared in the pond. The image was too dark, suggesting she was either underground or in a poorly lit room.

"I need better than that." Her fists clenched when the reflection merely showed a window above her head. "Thanks for nothing. Why did I think you'd be any help? Since you're listening, you can tell him that I'm doing great without him…or don't. It's not like he cares."

"Melanie?"

Everett was standing behind her, holding a rolled up newspaper. "Do you need to go to the hospital? You were just talking to the pond."

"I was trying to get help from some of my dad's friends," she said, brushing grass from her knees.

"They live in there?"

"No, are you stu—I'm looking for Faye. Where is she?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't act all clueless. She's missing and I know your pseudo mommy and Rumplestiltskin had a fight over what she did to Belle. I'm sure some hurtful things were said by both sides but she doesn't handle her anger well so my guess is Regina took her."

"S—she didn't," he said, taking several steps back as she moved towards him with an icy glare. "I swear on my life that Regina didn't. I was with her all night. She found out about the beans. The dwarves have been growing them to go back to the Enchanted Forest but David and Snow were going to leave Regina and anyone standing with her behind. I met up with Regina after Faye left the gym."

"You saw her leave?"

His eyes darted around the crowded park. He whimpered when Melanie grabbed him by his collar, pulling him down to eye level.

"You remember what happened to your old knight buddy Kol? I will do ten times worse if you don't start talking. You were spying on Faye?"

"F—for Regina. I saw you walk away and then she left a minute later and a car pulled up. She talked to whoever was driving, got in, and that's the last I saw her. I'm not lying," he said, shutting his eyes tightly. "Please don't hurt me."

"Maybe Regina had one of you snatch her."

"No. She—" He groaned when her nails dug into his neck. "She thought her plan with Belle would work. Why would she bother taking her? She just thinks Faye's a silly teenage girl."

"Then when we pay her a visit, she'll tell me exactly that and we'll see if she's lying. Congrats, Everett. You just became leverage."

Holding onto his collar, she transported them out of the park.

It hurt just for Faye to open her eyes. Feeling like a building collapsed on her, she tried to get a better sense of her surroundings but all she had to go on was moonlight streaming through a single window. As she reached for her neck, to relieve the stinging sensation, she noticed that her hands were tied together with rope, same as her legs, and a black leather cuff was covering the bracelet on her wrist.

"I see sleeping beauty's awake." A man, who Faye had seen around the town, entered the room with a metal tray. "Just kidding. I know you're not really her...or maybe you are, huh? Who knows?"

"You're that guy that got in a car accident."

"Name's Greg."

He placed the tray on the floor. She eyed the peanut butter sandwich and glass of of water warily.

"It's not poisoned. Scout's honor. We need you in good shape for the home office. They won't want damaged goods."

"The what? What are you—why am I tied up? Where am I?"

"Can't tell you where you are, obviously. You're tied up for our safety more than yours."

Tamara appeared in the doorway, looking at her like a stranger and not the daughter of the man she intended to marry in a few months.

"You better let me out of here or—"

"Or what?" she challenged. "You can't do anything as long as that's on your wrist."

Faye followed her gaze to the cuff. "This lame slap bracelet? Are you insane? Why the hell am I tied up?! Let me out of here now!"

"You won't be here long. We're just waiting on instructions from our boss. For some reason, he thinks you're special. All these months, I never noticed anything but maybe it's just because we're in a land where magic doesn't exist…well, at least outside of here. You're an unnatural abomination."

"And you're a psychotic bitch. I'm glad we're finally being honest about our feelings towards each other. My dad's going to find me and when he does, you better run like hell before my grandfather shows up too."

"Come on, we need to make sure she's strapped down tight."

She waited until their footsteps were faint before tapping the glass against the wall. Taking one of the loose shards, she began to cut the ropes around her hands.

"Wow, this is just pathetic."

That imposter from Regina's office returned, leaning against the wooden door. Unlike the last time, she was not dressed like Faye, her outfit, particularly the skintight black leather, resembling something from a villain in a fairytale. She noticed that her bracelet was missing and in its place was a black flame tattoo.

"It's not real. It's in my head," she repeated to herself, continuing to cut the ropes.

"Course I'm real. I'm you…a better you."

"No, you're not. I'm right here, tied up, and I know that because last time I checked, I don't dress like a comic book villain reject."

Faye turned her back, focusing on getting herself untied and finding her way to the inn. The imposter reappeared in the corner.

"You know, if you stopped hiding, you'd be out of these ropes by now. You wouldn't need glass to do it either. I'll always be here, whether you see me or not." She bent down, her dark hair hiding a scar on the side of her head. "Because the truth is, you're just one bad day away from becoming me and it is going to be so satisfying to watch you break."

"Go away."

"I could help you out, if you want."

"All I want is for you to go away!"

The ropes suddenly snapped but before she could work on the ones around her legs, she heard a door slam, followed by loud arguing. She moved against the wall, pretending to still be tied up, and shut her eyes, muttering to herself as if she was being bombarded with voices.

"What's wrong with her? Maybe the cuff's—"

"It's not the cuff, Greg. She just needs her medicine and then she'll be quiet." A hand pressed against her lips. "Faye, you need to take your pill or it won't stop. Faye!"

Swallowing the pill, she opened her eyes to see an exasperated Tamara by her side, an anxious Greg in the doorway, and Killian behind him, his face a mix of confusion and fear. Faye thought he was another hallucination.

"What is she doing here?" Placing the pill bottle in her coat pocket, Tamara looked at him. "Kidnapping a queen is a bold move but the dark one's granddaughter? That's a death wish."

"We do what we're told, Hook. If you have a problem, we can end our deal and you're free to leave but then you'll have to find another way to get your revenge."

"Of course not…though you should tie those ropes better. She's already broken out of them. Allow me," he said, entering the room. "No one better for the job than a pirate."

"If she starts making noise again, feel free to knock her out. We don't have much time before someone finds out she's here," said Tamara, shutting the door on their way out.

"Faye, are you a—bloody hell!"

Thinking on her feet, she had pinched his nose with a crab-like grip. "Lying piece of shit. I should've told Emma the truth when I heard you and Melanie on the ship. I'm gonna shove that hook so far up your—" He easily grabbed her hand. "Joke's on you, you raccoon looking jackass. I have tw—"

Both of her hands were pinned to the floor. "I'm not going to hurt you. You know that, Faye."

"Apparently, I don't know anything. I thought magic wasn't real. I thought my dad's fiancee was just a liar and a cheat but she turned out to be some nutcase with her secret boyfriend. I thought you were a nice person but you can't be nice if you're all buddy buddy with someone like her. Who knows what else I'm wrong about it? Maybe my dad banged a fairy or—what are you doing?"

With one swipe of his hook, he severed the ropes around her legs. He helped her up from the floor and quietly opened the door.

"Getting you out of here. I only agreed to a partnership because they claimed to have a way of destroying the crocodile. Harming you was never part of the deal. I want you to run as fast as you can and don't stop until you're far from here."

"But—"

"Once they've dealt with Regina, I assume you're next. I doubt this home office of theirs has good intentions. Find your father and tell him what's happened."

Doing as she was told, she hurried down the hallway, not turning her head at the sound of closing doors and creaky floors. The nearest exit led her out to the docks, the Jolly Roger being the first thing in her line of sight.

One minute, she was headed towards the inn and the next, she was dangling several feet above the ground. Something had a tight grip on the back of her sweater and it lifted her higher and higher until Storybrooke was nothing but a small speck.

Faye crashed back into the ground with a _thud_ and as she lifted her head, she saw a shadowy figure disappear into the night sky. Instead of the docks, she found herself on a sandy beach. Her eyes widened at a teal mermaid tail striking the surface of the water, several more appearing within minutes. In the distance, she spotted a skull-shaped island.

"Shit, shit, shit."

She picked up a thin branch and used it to draw a map in the sand, remembering Killian's stories. He warned her that it was not the idyllic place from her childhood stories, the island being home to many dangers. Hearing a soft rustling in the trees, she dragged her foot back and forth, destroying the map. A thin teenage boy, most of his face shrouded by a black hood, emerged from the jungle.

"C—can you help me, please?" she begged. "I don't—I don't know where I am."

"Get on your knees," he said, pointing a spear at her chest.

She raised her hands. "P—please don't hurt me. I just want to know where I am, that's all. I was in my bedroom and then—I um I ended up here. I need to get home."

"You're not going anywhere. I said on your knees! Get down or—"

With a sharp tug, she grabbed the spear and smacked him across the face, knocking him unconscious. She made a set of footprints heading into the jungle before carefully retracing her steps and hopping boulder to boulder in the opposite direction, pulling the boy's hood over her head.

"Just get there and you're safe," she whispered, moving through the thick jungle without snapping the tiniest twig.

"It saw her go this way."

Faye climbed up the nearest tree, ducking when an arrow nearly pierced her neck. Sitting on the highest branch, she glanced down at the group of boys, all holding weapons. The one in the middle, about the same age as her with blonde hair sticking out from under his hood and leaning a wooden club casually against his shoulder, nodded to the muscular boy beside him. Another arrow zoomed towards her, this time inches from her arm.

"You can't stay there forever," said the blonde boy. "I suggest you come down. Either willingly or by force, it will happen."

"I'm fine up here, thanks. I like the view."

"If we wanted to hurt you, Nick wouldn't have missed but if shooting you down is our only choice, _he_ will understand. I'm sure you don't want that."

A red flower, to the left of them, gleaming in the moonlight caught her eye. As Nick raised his bow again, she chucked the spear, leading them to jump out of the way.

"Aw, you missed," said Nick, pouting. "What's your plan n—"

 _SNAP._

The boys were lifted into the air, trapped inside a net constructed from vines. Watching them struggle to cut themselves loose, she jumped down from the tree and picked up Nick's bow.

"Friend told me about that one. Have fun getting out."

Faye continued to her intended destination, a place where she could be safe until her family found her. The trap unfortunately did not hold them for long, considering she could hear their hollering. Not wanting them to catch onto her plan, she tied a long string of vine between two trees, keeping it low to the ground as she hid behind a thick log. Fighting off a teenage boy was hardly a problem, having slapped a few back home, but she doubted she could bring herself to hurt a boy that looked he could only cross the street by holding his mother's hand.

"Weren't they supposed to knock her out before bringing her here? Would've made this a lot easier."

She tugged on the vine, causing three of the boys, two of them no older than Henry, to fall flat on their faces. The oldest scrambled to his feet and retrieved a knife from his pocket. Before he could even call out to his friends, she smacked him in the back of the head with the bow. The young boys trembled, as if expecting to be hit next, but she simply gave them a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, I won't hurt you. I just want to get somewhere safe. Can you tell them I went back towards the—"

An arm wrapped around her throat, like a python squeezing its prey. "Boo." Nick sniggered as she clawed at him. "Not so tough now, huh? You're not getting away this ti—argh!"

Her teeth sank deep into his arm. The second his grip loosened, she threw her head back with all the strength she could muster, unsure who it hurt more: her or him. He staggered backwards, a hand over his right eye. Shaking off the pain, she sprinted as fast as she could, stopping at a small cavern covered in vines and pulled on a rope hanging off the side, revealing a passageway.

"I have to say, I'm impressed."

A dark-haired teenage boy was sitting on a rock across from her. He had some sort of netting under his short-sleeved green shirt and a cuff on each wrist. She immediately raised the bow but instead of showing fear or attacking her, he grinned.

"I honestly wasn't sure what to expect," he said, his accent similar to Killian's. "When the shadow brings me someone, they don't usually put up much of a fight, some don't even bother at all, but you've got fire. Some of those boys have been training with those weapons for nearly a century and you took them down in seconds."

"I've reached my daily limit on stupid teenage boys so unless you want an arrow through your eye, you better move."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Faye." She tensed up at the mention of her name. "Of course I know who you are. Rude of me not to introduce myself, isn't it? I'm Peter Pan."

"Yeah well I'm no Wendy Darling so send me the hell home."

"Why would I after all that trouble I went through to bring you here? I think we've had enough games for today."

In a split second, she was inside what looked like a hollowed out tree, reminding her of the cartoon. The bow and hood gone, her hands had, once more, been tied together. She went to stand up but the lower half of her body felt frozen in place. It was impossible for her to just bend her foot.

"Enjoy your new home."

Killian stiffened at the sight of the crocodile aboard his ship. He reminded himself that he was putting aside his revenge, for now, to rescue Faye and her younger brother Henry. It had only been two hours ago, when he arrived at Swan's small, strange home with the intent to help them stop the destruction of Storybrooke. Upon hearing of her father's death, he expected to find her with Swan but she was nowhere to be found.

His confusion over her absence led to the truth behind his return, how she had found him tied up and brought him to the town in a metal carriage. He blamed himself for not ensuring that she made it back to her father, that she was safe before continuing with Greg and Tamara's plan, but his anger towards the crocodile clouded his judgment.

"She was staying with you." Swan picked up a book, _The Once and Future King_ , near the helm. "I remember her reading this in _Granny's_ the other day. After her fight with Neal, she stayed with you."

He felt a small satisfaction from the curl of the crocodile's lip. "Aye. She thought it was a good place to hide, somewhere no one would expect."

"Well, you're right about that. Greg and Tamara never told you why they took her?"

"I'll ask them when I'm done squishing her head like a grape."

Turning around, he saw Melanie, who preferred to only be called by her cursed name, and Marcus, one of the prince's loyal knights, walking onto the ship.

"What are you two doing here?" asked David, clearly surprised by their arrival.

"I made an oath to protect your family, no matter the cost. That, of course, includes Henry and by extension, Faye. It is partially my fault that she was captured. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight for even a moment. I won't take no for an answer. Alaric can man the defenses if anything happens while we're gone."

Melanie looked around at the distrustful stares. "Oh, do I have to make a noble speech now? Okay, well uh Neverland's a crazy place and you need all the magic you can get. It's not like Emma's any help in that department. Pretty sure she can't make a cup float." Swan crossed her arms. "Queenie over there is like one step above her, we all know the Dark Jackass is going to ditch the second we go through the portal, and I'm the best at magic in the whole town."

"You care about no one but yourself," said the crocodile, dismissively. "This is another one of your games."

"Uh false. I can care about other people. Henry's sort of cool, I guess. Plus I've really gotten used to those blueberry muffins and the only way I get them is through that peppy little puppy of a person because Granny always thinks I'm going to poison someone's food." She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her leather coat. "And I feel bad too. I knew something was off when she texted me that day and if I trusted my gut, she wouldn't be in Neverland right now."

"You expect me to believe—"

"Gold, we don't have time for this," Swan insisted. "If they want to come, let them come. The more help, the better."

Knowing every passing second could spell certain doom, they hurried to prepare the ship for departure. Killian aided Marcus with the rigging, his eyes passing over a marking on his wrist.

"Interesting mark you've got there, mate. I wouldn't expect that of a knight."

"It's from before I ever took that oath. I didn't have the best upbringing and David found me at a low point. He gave me a second chance, helped me see that I could be better."

He pulled down his sleeve, hiding the black flame tattoo. Sensing it was a sore subject, he left the young knight to his own thoughts and walked over to Melanie, who was gazing intently at the water.

"He's permitted use of that again?"

"Barely," she replied, flicking a pebble. "I asked them for help to find her before but they were useless."

"She'll know where to hide. She's a clever girl. He brought her there for a reason. What that is, I'm not sure but he wouldn't take her just to throw her to the mermaids."

"You know, I didn't just come because of Faye." Her fingers brushed against a scratch on the wood. "Someone has to have your back around that snake. I wouldn't put it past him to use you as bait, if he doesn't ditch us before we even hit shore."

He grinned, knowing it was easier to fight a kraken than to get an ounce of emotion from her.

"I'm touched by your concern."

"Shove it," she said, regretting the rare display of compassion. "You're just lucky you're one of the only people I can tolerate in all the realms."

Once everything was in order, they journeyed through the swirling portal, all with their many differences but with the same goal in mind. 


	5. Secrets

"Eat."

Faye stared back defiantly at Nick, a bowl of red berries at her feet. He raised his bow, the tip of the arrow pointing at her thigh, yet her expression remained the same.

"Why are you pointing an arrow at our guest?" As Pan emerged from the darkness, the torches lit up, illuminating her wooden prison. "You have better manners than that."

"She won't eat. We've been trying since last night. Maybe an arrow through the leg would change her mind."

"Don't like berries? Neverland is built on belief, Faye. If you'd like something else, just think of it and it'll appear. Think of your favorite food."

"No thanks," she replied, nonchalantly.

Between her knees, she was slowly cutting at her ropes with a knife she had stolen from one of the younger boys who offered her a cup of water.

"You can put a whole five course meal in front of me but I won't take a single bite. Your little lackeys are wasting their time."

Nick snarled but before he could fire a single arrow, even just a warning shot, Pan pushed the bow down, looking amused.

"Surely you're hungry."

"I can go two weeks without food but I doubt you want to risk that. You didn't just bring me here to break up your centuries old sausage fest. You want me here for a reason, which means you need me alive, so I wonder how long it'll take to break through your scary villain act. If it takes dying to stop you, then that's fine with me."

"A battle of wills...interesting approach. Why don't I add another piece to this game?"

Felix, who was easily his most loyal follower, entered through the hole in the trunk, holding a disheveled Henry by his collar. Pan smirked at the flicker of panic in her eyes, knowing he had regained the advantage.

"Would you be so willing to die if it meant leaving your little brother all alone on this island?"

The spell suddenly lifted from her legs and without hesitation, she broke free from the ropes and threw the knife. Just as she expected, he dodged it with ease but he was certainly not prepared for her to tackle him like a linebacker. She reached for the knife and was about to drive it through his chest when she felt a tingling sensation in her right hand, the same hand on his throat. It was an indescribable feeling, one that she wanted to hold onto forever.

That split second of distraction allowed him to flick his wrist and she was back where she started, tied up and unable to move her legs. Her eyes darted away from her hand at Nick's suggestion of locking her in a cage as punishment. She thought Pan would agree, angered by her defiance, but to her confusion, he seemed pleased.

"No need for that. Let's leave them to their happy reunion."

Once they were gone, Henry wrapped his arms around her neck, nearly squeezing the life out of her. She returned it half-heartedly, still thinking about what happened mere moments ago.

"Faye, you're here! We were all really worried. Hook said he let you go and we didn't know what happened. We thought maybe Greg and Tamara knew you escaped and captured you again."

"No. I was uh running back to the inn and some shadow thing grabbed me and I ended up here. How did you get to Neverland?"

"They brought me through a portal. The home office is Pan and the lost boys. He was just using them to get to me…well, us."

"Why?"

"I—I don't know. He said something about me having the heart of the truest believer, whatever that means. I'm just glad you're safe. I'm sorry that I tried tricking you at the park. I just wanted—I thought it would help you two get along."

She wiped a spot of dirt off his chin. "Hey, that doesn't matter now. We're getting out of here. You think cell reception works in other realms? I could try to send a message to my dad." Henry's smile faltered. "I meant our dad, obviously. Just need some time getting used to saying that."

"Faye, something happened after you got taken away."

Her entire world shattered as Henry explained that Tamara shot her father and created a portal as a distraction, her father falling through due to his injuries. Emma, who had been with him due to her suspicions of Tamara and her possible involvement in August's death, had no way of figuring out where the portal sent him but doubted that he survived the journey.

He was gone. No chance of apologies or goodbyes. His last memory of her would be a fight about his treacherous fiancee and Faye slamming the door to the inn, a packed bag in her hand.

Henry's voice sounded a million miles away as he assured her that she had family and a home in Storybrooke. Without her father, she could never afford their apartment back in New York and even though she knew her friends' parents would gladly take her in, she would be exactly what Grayson always called her: a pathetic charity case.

How would she even explain her father's death or the absence of a funeral? It was hard enough to cover up her disappearance at school, thanks to being trapped in Storybrooke and now in Neverland. A small part of her wanted to believe that he was still alive, no matter how foolish.

Late into the night, not that she could tell how much time had passed since it was perpetually dark on the island, her body still felt completely numb. Henry, fast asleep, had his head resting in her lap.

"Can't sleep, lost girl?" The torches lit up, revealing Pan. "It's fitting to call you that now, isn't it?"

"I'm not playing this game with you."

"No? You wanted to play before. Has the tragic news snuffed out that fire?"  
"You know, those hunger games rejects might think you're the greatest thing in the world but I see through your bullshit." He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. "If you really were that powerful, you'd be like my grandfather, scared of nothing but I do know one thing you're scared of right now…me."

"And why would you think that?"

"Because Henry isn't tied up or restrained with magic. How hard would it be for one of the older boys to knock me down if I tried to escape?"

"Call it a precaution, for when you start to realize that you're more than just some national honors scholar."

"You're right." He raised his brow. "I'm a pissed off older sister. Let Henry go. Whatever you want with him, forget it and just take me."

"Afraid that's not going to happen. You see, you're both crucial to my plans. In time, you'll never want to leave. Your mother certainly didn't."

 _It's all a game._

Four days had passed and Faye continued to remind herself that he was a manipulator. He could never have met her mother, a woman with no ties to magic except when it came to brownies. The lost boys kept a close eye on both her and Henry, when they were not sparring with wooden swords or playing some other silly game.

Nick, in particular, made himself her personal bodyguard, watching her like a hawk when she did something as simple as drink water. From one of the younger boys, she learned that he was a recent recruit, being taken by the shadow barely a decade ago from a town in Kansas. It explained how he showed no interest in her phone, unlike the other boys who referred to it as a magic box.

Pan enjoyed being cryptic, dropping little hints about Faye's mother and her and Henry's special destiny to save magic. She waited for any sign that help was on the way but for all she knew, Emma and the others could not get to Neverland, all the beans being used by Greg and Tamara.

She remembered one of Killian's stories, how he used enchanted shells along the shore of mermaid lagoon to stay in contact with his old pirate friends in the Enchanted Forest. It was mainly used for them to relay any new information about the dagger's whereabouts. If she managed to grab one of those shells, she could send a message to him. Henry was skeptical to trust him, believing that Killian had abandoned Storybrooke to impending doom, but it was their best chance.

Leaving the tree, she watched the boys dance around the fire to nonexistent music, one of their usual activities. Her eyes fell on Pan and Felix, who seemed to be having a tense conversation. With all of them distracted, it was the perfect time to execute her plan. She winked at a concerned Henry before sneaking out of the camp.

Faye broke into a run, refusing to look back for even a millisecond. She stopped at the edge of the lagoon, careful not to catch the attention of any passing mermaids. As she picked up a small pink shell, an arrow nearly struck her foot.

"Killian, I'm in Neverland, by the lagoon. You need to tell Emma before—"

A force like a speeding truck knocked her to the ground, the shell falling into the water. Nick's muscular frame kept her pinned to the ground with little effort, his elbow crushing her windpipe.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, little miss popular? No one leaves this place without Pan's permission and he's far from done with you."

"Get off," she wheezed.

"Once he gets what he wants, he's going to leave you to rot and then he'll let the boys and I have our fun." He smirked, his eyes passing over her short skirt. "Why wait though? He won't mind as long as you're in one piece. Before he found me, a girl like you wouldn't give me the time of day but here, what you want means nothing."

She reached for another shell but they were all out of reach and her fingers brushed against the sand. That strange feeling returned, the same from when she grabbed Pan's throat, and a sudden wind swept along the shore. He was blasted back by a wave of silver light, the blow sending him flying into the dark jungle. The next thing she knew, a hand grasped hers and she found herself face to face with Melanie.

A million thoughts ran through her mind but all she could focus on was the feeling intensifying tenfold in her hand. She snapped out of her daze when Melanie pulled her into a hug.

"Did that jackass hurt you? I'll throw him to the mermaids if he—"

"You're here," said Faye, squeezing her tightly. For a moment, she thought she heard a humming noise from her bracelet. "You found me."

"Course I did. It's your fault I'm hooked on those muffins and now I need them every morning or I will go nuts. Plus you're my sort of kind of…friend. You'd think I'd leave the rescuing to those idiots? They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag."

"Faye!" Emma wrapped her in a warm embrace. "You're alive. We didn't even know if—I was starting to think…you are okay, right?"

"Y—yeah."

Besides Emma and Melanie, David, Mary Margaret, Marcus, Killian, and Regina were standing at the edge of the jungle. It looked like the strangest rescue team, considering their history with each other.

"Clever lass," said Killian, ruffling her hair. "You remembered the stories. I got your message straight away."

"Thank goodness you're safe, Faye. We were all very worried," said Mary Margaret, with a kind smile.

"Enough with the happy reunions and small talk," interrupted Regina. "Where's the camp? I'm not leaving without my son."

"It's just over—"

Faye drew a blank, unable to remember a single thing about Pan's camp. Seconds ago, the path she had taken was clear in her head but now, it was all a giant blur. Killian believed that Pan created a failsafe in case she or Henry managed to escape, a spell to erase the location of the camp from their memories. Regina, furious that they were no closer to finding Henry, stormed off in a huff, muttering about incompetence and foolishness.

They had arrived in Neverland soon after Henry but faced all sorts of obstacles, including a fight with some of the lost boys and an attempt at finding the camp with the help of a fairy named Tinkerbell. Before receiving Faye's message, they were searching for clues to escape the island inside her father's old hideout, the same cave where Pan captured her, and discovered a secret star map, one only her father could decode.

Emma led them back to the cave, hoping to find more clues. Not wanting to reopen the fresh wound of losing him, Faye chose to remain outside as a lookout, armed with a cutlass from Killian for protection.

"They're wasting their time." Pan was leaning against the wall of the cave. "No need to shout for help. I don't intend to drag you back to the camp. Eventually, you'll come back on your own…once you realize that I'm the only one who can help you, who you can trust…"

"Try something less cliche," she said, raising the cutlass.

He stepped towards her. "What if I told you that you're not sick, Faye? You've never been sick. You were simply born in a land that didn't understand your gifts."

Faye's fists clenched, reminded of the countless her parents and doctors said the exact same thing. No one understood the pain and fear she experienced when she was plagued with voices in her head or her doubts whether the person sitting across from her was real or another hallucination.

"Gifts?" she repeated, her eyes narrowed in an icy glare. "You don't know what the hell I go through every day so let me give you a dose of reality. It's torture. If you think it's so great, use magic to take it from me. I'll gladly trade."

"You're afraid. It's understandable considering where you were raised. Your mother was the same and that's why she hid it away. She let the pains of her own past cloud her judgment. If she hadn't—"

"Don't talk about my mother! I'm not your stupid lost boys who eat your bullshit for breakfast."

"You're stubborn like her," he said, with a quiet chuckle. "As I said, you'll soon realize that I'm right but for now, I'll leave you with something to chew on. What's in that cave can't help your friends but it will help you see things more clearly. Careful with what you touch."

He soon vanished, leaving her alone with her thoughts. No matter how much she wanted to tell herself that it was all a lie, another game, his words nagged at her in the back of her mind. She took a deep breath before entering the cave but before she could take a single step, the others left, intent on getting a message to Henry.

Back at their makeshift camp, they tied together vines as part of Mary Margaret's plan to capture a lost boy, a plan Killian considered flawed. Faye wanted to speak with him privately but Marcus latched onto her like a guard dog, apparently an order from David. Ever since they left the cave, she noticed an odd tension between the two men.

"Oops," she said, 'accidentally' knocking over the flask of water.

"I'll get you more," offered Marcus. "Did you want anything else to eat? Are you cold?"

"Nope, just thirsty."

"I'll be back."

Once he disappeared into the jungle, she started to stand up when Melanie took his place, looking uncharacteristically anxious.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something. I'm not sure where to start. It's kind of complicated."

"Can it wait like a minute? I'll be right back."

She sat beside Killian, a half empty flask of rum in his hand. He broke his gaze away from Emma, who was intensely focused on the vines.

"If you stare any harder, she'll burst into flames."

"I was merely observing their work. Can't be much help myself with only one hand."

"Uh huh. Don't pull a Reina Carlisle. She's one of the first people I met when my dad moved us to New York in seventh grade. She was in eighth, head cheerleader, class president, and aspiring fashion designer. Her dad owned the most popular ice cream shop in the city. I went there with Sophie like every day in the summer before school started and Reina was always there, helping her father out behind the counter. She'd secretly give me two scoops for the price of one."

"I fail to see why—"

"Two scoops turned to three and then that turned into staying an hour after closing and hanging out on her days off. Her dad started to notice something was up and one day, he banned me from the shop. I went two weeks without that ice cream or seeing her and by the time the school year started, she got sent to live with her aunt in Texas. It's relevant to you because you don't flirt with a girl in front of her father. Take my advice."

"I'm not—I've no interest in Swan," he whispered, not the least bit convincing. "I'm aiding in this rescue mission."

"That's why the _Kill Bill_ music starts playing in David's head whenever he looks at you? At least be discrete with the eye sex."

He choked on his rum, catching the attention of the others. Avoiding Emma's curious glance, he wiped the spilled rum from his sleeve.

"That was my mistake. You know how Reina's dad knew something was going on? He caught us making out in the back room and saw the two hickeys on her neck. Not our brightest idea but lesson learned."

"Are you here to regale me with stories of your past…dalliances?"

"As much fun as it would be to put your list to shame, no. I wanted to talk to you about Pan, something he told me. I don't know if it's—"

Their conversation was interrupted by David insisting on Killian's help with finding more vine. As Faye waited for his return, Melanie was about to join her but Emma beat her to it, the petite blonde doing a quick turn to pretend she wanted some berries.

"I've still got some, if you want to help," said Emma, handing her a couple vines. "Are you doing okay? You've had a rough few days. I just want you to know that I tried—I really tried to save him. If I had just—"

"It's not your fault. Tamara had everyone fooled. I mean, on the list of things I thought she was lying about, working for Peter Pan wasn't one of them."

"Guess we have to consider a lot more these days. If someone had told me a year ago that I'd be trying to rescue my son in Neverland, I'd think they were insane or drunk. Until you figure out what to do back in New York, you can stay with us. Mary Margaret doesn't have much space left in her loft but I'm sure Gold has a spare room."

There was not much time for another chat when the men returned, with a surprising plan of their own. Killian heard of a sextant hidden atop Dead Man's Peak, a device capable of aiding their escape off the island. Faye thought it was strange that he randomly remembered it, let alone that he wanted to split up and travel with just David. He promised they could talk about Pan once they retrieved the sextant.

A shield appeared in front of her, keeping her inside the clearing. "Going somewhere?" asked Regina, suspiciously.

"You don't need six people to catch one boy. I uh thought I'd go back to my dad's old place. Maybe there is a clue and you just missed it."

"Faye, I don't think you should go anywhere alone," said Emma. "Pan could come after you again. You're lucky you managed to escape once."

"I'll go with her," offered Melanie, conjuring a small ruby. "I'm sure the human puppy dog will be right behind us. If this starts glowing, it means we're in danger."

"If you're not back within the hour, we're looking for you. First sign of trouble, you run, don't fight. I don't care if you have enough magic to take down an army."

Once inside the cave, Faye admired the many drawings scattered across the walls. None of them proved that Pan was right. Behind her, she could hear Melanie and Marcus arguing in hushed whispers as they searched through her father's belongings.

"I think this is a dud," she said, putting down the lantern. "We should head back."

"Not yet. There has to a clue, maybe something only I would notice…"

"Or it's like Hook said and only your dad can read the map. We'll find another way. Hey, speaking of your dad, I uh wanted to talk to you about him. I'll just spit it out. He's not dead."

Faye's head whipped around so fast that she thought it would fall off her shoulders. It had to be another hallucination. She waited for Melanie to repeat herself, saying something completely different.  
"Why are you—"

Marcus was silenced with a snap of her fingers. He continued to open and close his mouth in anger.

"Ignore the angry little knight. He thinks I'm giving you false hope but I'm not. My dad told me he's alive."

"Your dad?" she asked, puzzled. Melanie never mentioned her family before but considering she lived alone in Storybrooke, Faye always assumed they were long gone. "He's in Storybrooke?"

"No, he's—it's complicated. We haven't spoken in centuries. Yeah, I'm a little older than I look but that's not important right now. I tried talking to him after we realized Pan was messing with the map he gave Emma, thinking he could tell us where to find you and Henry. It was a long shot but I thought appealing to his compassionate side would help and I mentioned your dad being shot by one of Pan's minions. My dad didn't care and I thought it was because he was being a cold bastard to spite me but it's because your dad wasn't down there. He's—what are you doing?"

Faye walked straight past her and Marcus, to the far side of the cave. Amongst the drawings of the Jolly Roger and mermaids was something unusual: _B+M_ , surrounded by a heart, a portrait of a teenage girl beneath the writing.

"He was telling the truth."

"Who?" asked Marcus, no longer affected by the spell. "What are you looking at?"

"Pan knew my mother. She was here, in Neverland. That's how she met my dad. They didn't meet in New Orleans. How could she even get here? The shadow only brings boys. Why would he take her?"

" _He_ told you that? Faye, for all you know, Pan used magic to put these here. He could be messing with your head."

"My mom had an entire album of pictures of them when they were my age. This is her," she asserted, pointing to the portrait. "He said I would find something in here to explain things."

"That's why you wanted to come back here? Because of Pan's lies?"

"It's obviously not a lie. There has to be something more. It can't just be—"

The writing emitted a bluish glow when her fingers touched the wall. Her eyes widened as the wall slid up, revealing a passageway. She picked up the lantern and ran into the darkness.

"Faye!" they chorused.

Killian kept his guard up, never taking his eyes off the demonic boy he had once served for centuries. He had convinced David to join him on a journey to Dead Man's Peak to supposedly find a way off the island when in actuality, it was a mission to save him from dreamshade. Pan wished to revive their partnership.

Instead of being deterred by Killian's refusal, he offered passage out of Neverland for him and Emma, clearly aware of his growing feelings for her. He hated that for even the briefest moment, he selfishly considered the offer. To prove his newfound loyalty, he wanted Killian to murder the prince atop the peak, before the dreamshade took his life.

"I'd allow you to take Faye as well but she doesn't want to leave."

"If you think I'll let you keep that girl prisoner, you're wrong. I won't leave the island without her."

Pan grinned. "She's not my prisoner, Killian. Neverland is where she's meant to be. It's where her story will truly begin and I can help her with that."

"You care for no one but yourself. Forgive me if I don't believe you've changed. The only reason you would pretend to care is because you gain something from it. If you want this partnership, I'd expect some honesty. What do you want with Faye?"

"She's very valuable, Killian. I'm surprised the Dark One hasn't realized it yet but perhaps he's blinded by his emotions. Whoever has her, they have complete control."

"Another one of your games, is it? What are you going on about?"

"Oh, it's no game but even if it were, someone has been playing far longer than I have and just like me, they'll stop at nothing to win. You need to broaden your mind to see that. Each day, they're getting closer to make their move. They're simply waiting for the right moment."

"Who intends to hurt her? I'm not interested in your games. Tell me!"

"If you manage to reunite with the Dark One, give him this. He'll know what it means."

He vanished, leaving a single red and gold feather in Killian's hand. David pulling himself up the side of the cliff shook him out of his stupor. Hiding the feather in his pocket, he held out his hand to the struggling prince.

"Faye, wait! You don't even know where you're going!"

Faye continued to run down the dark tunnel, the lantern the only source of light. To her disappointment, it led to a dead-end, just another wall. She winced at a sharp pain in her shoulder, courtesy of a hard smack from Melanie.

"Are you nuts?! You don't run down dark tunnels in Neverland. It would be just great if we came back with your arm sliced off. Are you even listening to me?"

"It's nothing," she said, looking at their bare surroundings.

"Yep, nothing. Pan was playing one of his mind games. It's what he does, Faye. He wanted you to think there was some grand mystery but all there is a wall. Can we get back to—"

"Maybe not." Marcus reached behind a boulder, picking up a tattered dreamcatcher. "We just need magic to make this work, right?" he said, handing it to Melanie. "Use yours."

"I didn't hear a please, Sir Valiant."

"Do it!" Both she and Faye were taken aback by his forceful tone. "I—I didn't mean to—I don't want Faye to feel like we came here for nothing. Maybe this has answers. Can you please try?"

Rolling her eyes, Melanie held the dreamcatcher with both hands. Just as the inside began to shimmer, he snatched it back ("Oh, thanks, Mel. You're so nice," she said, sarcasm dripping off every word) and the three of them waited, huddled around the small red hoop. For several minutes, they just stared at nothing. Marcus apologized for getting Faye's hopes up but she grabbed ahold of it.

"Wait! I see my dad."

"I don't see anything," said Melanie, tilting her head. "You sure you're not just hallucinating from lack of food?"

"No, he's in his hideout. It must be one of his memories from when he was on the island."

 _Her father, no older than fourteen and dressed like the lost boys, poured water into a coconut shell. He walked over to a straw cot, where a dark-haired teenage girl, her eyes the color of stormy sky, was lying under her blanket. They both looked like they jumped out of the photos in her mother's album._

 _"You need to be careful around those mermaids. They're dangerous." The girl shivered before taking the coconut. "Do you need another blanket?"_

 _"I'm fine," she muttered. "I didn't need your help."_

 _"That's a strange way of saying thank you. I'm Baelfire."_

 _"I'm sorry." Her father gave her an odd look. "That your parents named you that. It must be a burden."_

 _He grinned. "Most people call me Bae. Who are you? I've never seen a girl on the island. Pan always said he only wanted boys."_

 _"He makes exceptions. We made a deal so I could stay in Neverland. He's keeping me safe…not out of the goodness in his heart but it doesn't matter to me."_

 _"You're in danger?"_

 _"Not anymore. I'm just here to get revenge on the people who hurt me. Pan's helping me get it." Her mother took another sip. "That's why I was in the lagoon. I need something from the mermaids but they aren't good with sharing. I'll try again tomorrow."_

 _She tensed up when he joined her on the cot. He told her that he had experience with people wanting revenge and how it never brought them happiness. Her mother, not the kind-hearted, compassionate woman Faye knew, simply rolled her eyes at his ideas of putting the past behind her. In a way, she reminded Faye of Killian, with their shared obsession with revenge._

 _"You don't know what they did to me. They more than deserve it. I'm not looking for happiness. A girl like me could never get it anyway."_

 _"Everyone deserves happiness. Maybe you're just looking in the wrong place."_

 _"I can see why Pan didn't want that shining optimism near the other boys. I appreciate the sentiment but you're not changing my mind. All I want is to make them pay for what they did to me and I'll be satisfied. If it takes selling my soul to Pan, then fine."_

 _"Well, until you're feeling better, you're welcome to stay here. I don't mind the company. I've gotten used to being alone but it's nice to talk to someone every so often."_

 _She nodded. "I know what that's like. Most of my life was spent alone and when I thought I had people that cared about me, it turned out to be a lie. Thank you…for saving me. You were really brave."_

 _"I've dealt with a mermaid or two over the years," he said, acting like it was nothing more than fighting off a kitten. "Maybe I can help you in the lagoon. It's easier to do things together."_

 _Her mother smiled. "I guess I wouldn't mind that. If we're going to be partners, you should probably know my name. It's Morgan."_

 _Their surroundings changed to the shore of mermaid lagoon. Her mother, now older and wearing a sun dress, was standing across from Pan, cradling a baby in her arms._

 _"Do you have it? Don't tell me I came all this way for nothing. I held up my end. Now you can find the heart of the truest believer. What are you staring at, Pan?"_

 _"Just seeing how much you've changed, a far cry from the girl I first met. You told me all you cared about was revenge, making them suffer for the pain they inflicted on you all those years ago."_

 _"It's in the past. All I care about is protecting Faye. The savior will break the curse and I don't know what will happen. They could all be sent back to their realms or remain here and if the Dark One has his magic, he'll find her and I don't think Neal is enough to make him stop. He's not my only worry. She found a way over as well. She must've piggybacked on Regina's curse with a few adjustments."_

 _"She's always been resourceful."_

 _"And dangerous. She's built herself a life in this other land, a way to hide amongst the normal people. That home office of hers, it's just a way to use their disbelief to her advantage, let them destroy her opponents for her. They don't know who they're really working for and soon enough, she'll find us. I won't let her do to Faye what she did to me."_

 _"How long do you intend to use it for? You don't know the long term consequences. It could do more harm than good."_

 _"If it keeps Faye hidden from her minions, that's all that matters." Pan handed her a gold bracelet, the same Faye had worn for years, which she placed on the baby's wrist. "This will never come off."_

 _"It won't last forever, Morgan. If what the seer told me is true, you'll only make it worse."_  
 _Her mother glared. "Don't pretend you give a damn about my family. You want her for yourself. I know you've been talking to him. I would never get through to him, not after all this time and the years of lies he's been fed, but it doesn't matter because none of you power-seeking leeches will win. Even if I'm gone, I'll see to that."_

 _"How nice to see his optimism has rubbed off on you. It's made you naive. You can't protect your precious daughter forever. I've seen my future and she's in it. Neverland is where it will begin."_

 _Her mother turned her head, looking directly at Faye. Somehow, she was seeing her from inside the memory._

 _"He doesn't know what's in the dreamcatcher. Only you can see it. He probably thinks it's me telling you to take off that bracelet, that it's the only way to beat him. Don't tell anyone what you saw in here, no matter how close you are. You can't trust anyone, Faye. Be strong."_

Faye lowered the dreamcatcher, the shimmer gone. Melanie and Marcus, his hand on her lower back, looked at her, expectantly but she placed it on the ground and headed back through the passageway.

"Hold on," said Melanie, as they returned to her father's hideout. "What did you see? Don't say nothing because you were tearing up."

"Just a memory of my parents. It was the day they first met. I guess the shadow made a mistake so my dad was hiding her from the lost boys. A little different from the story they used to tell me but I get why they lied."

"Well, now you can tell him you know because he's not in the Underworld."

"The—your dad's in the—what does he do, exactly?"

"Heh, he's uh in charge down there. He's Hades," she said, waving her hands awkwardly. "Well, technically my uncle is my dad because he tricked my mom but he never cared about me. Melinoe to Melanie…the curse isn't very good at subtle names. Who cares about my complicated family? Your dad's alive…somewhere. I bet Pan knows where he is. That must be why he wanted you to find the dreamcatcher. He wants you to get all sentimental and be like 'Bam, I have your dad. Turn yourself over or I throw him to the mermaids'."

Faye stifled a laugh at her imitation of Pan. "Yeah, that makes—wait, so you're like a god. Like an actual—did you live on Mt. Olympus? Is that an actual place? What about—"

"Can we focus on something more important?"

Marcus was, somehow, completely uninterested in Melanie's family history. He held out the dreamcatcher.

"Why would Pan go to all that trouble just to make you see an old memory of your father? He could've told you from the moment he captured you. Maybe you should look at the dreamcatcher again. What if there's a memory of your dad escaping? We could use it to figure out his star map."

"Nope, it was just that," she replied, maintaining a straight face. "He probably didn't know we have a frickin' god on our team. That's already game over for him. We just have to walk up to the camp and be like 'Hey, we've got like a superhero on our team and all you've got is a bunch of teenage boys with pointy sticks' and he'll be like 'oh shit, I'm screwed' and we'll get Henry back."

Melanie's cheeks reddened. "Wow, you're taking this a lot better than I thought but I'm not exactly—"

"She could probably make a portal herself."

"She can't even get her magic to work right," he said, dismissively. "She isn't as great as you think. Her father banished her from her home and her magic's been weakened ever since. She's hardly a match for Pan these days. I wouldn't even consider her a god."

"Well, you're not so great yourself!" shouted Melanie, before storming out of the cave.

Faye stamped her foot. "Why are you always such a jerk to her? We're supposed to be a team. Maybe instead of constantly judging her, you could actually give her a chance."

"You don't know her like I do, Faye. Back home, she was manipulative and selfish. That's why I didn't want her to give you false hope. All that matters right now is getting home and your father has the answers. Any advice he has is in this dreamcatcher, not wherever he is if he somehow evaded death."

Taking the dreamcatcher, she snapped it in half over her knee ("Don't!") and threw the broken pieces at him. She chased after Melanie, finding her not too far from the camp. The petite blonde was using magic to angrily cut into a tree trunk.

"I told him he was being a jerk."

Melanie discreetly wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, passing it off as a bug. "He thinks he's so great because he's a knight and the goody goody heroes practically want to adopt him. You should've seen them in the Enchanted Forest. Oh Marcus this, oh Marcus that…it made me want to vomit."

"Is it true? Your dad banished you?" She found her boots very interesting. "Y—you don't have to talk about it."

"I was being stupid. I found out the truth about my birth and it just made me question everything. It was already hard enough with my perfect older sister and then that bombshell dropped and I felt like I was doomed to be a failure. It made me act out, some bad things happened, and he sent me away. He stripped me of most of my magic as an extra punishment."

"That sucks but you don't need the power to kill people with just a poke of your finger to make yourself a god."

"Couldn't even do that before."

"Well, you're still really cool. I've never met your sister but I'd pick you over her any day. Perfection is overrated."

"Says the girl who probably has her picture next to the word in the dictionary," she said, restoring the tree with a snap of her fingers. "Come on, let's leave the pouty knight to whine in the cave and enjoy the few minutes of freedom. It's been way over an hour so Emma's probably freaking out."

On their way back to the camp, they stumbled upon a surprising sight: a magic lesson between Regina and Emma. Having just recently discovered her abilities, Emma had no proper training and was reluctant to even use it but if it helped to save Henry, she would put aside her doubts. She struggled to just light the fire. It took less than a minute for an argument to erupt between them, with Emma refusing to use her anger to drive her magic.

Between their bouts of bickering, Faye asked Melanie more questions about her past life. It was mind-blowing, to learn that gods were real and some, either banished or giving up their extraordinary lives, lived in realms as boring as hers. With that giant weight off her chest, Melanie opened up more, teasing that the land without magic was about 99% wrong about gods and telling stories about her far from normal relatives.

Marcus, looking apologetic, arrived in the middle of a story about one of her many cousins. Melanie, still sore from their spat in the cave, stood up to intervene before Emma and Regina tore off each other's heads, creating an invisible barrier between them.

"I'm sorry about before," he said, unable to meet Faye's gaze. "I don't—she gets under my skin so easily. I didn't mean to annoy you about the dream catcher either. I just—it's my fault you ended up here and I wanted to make sure you didn't have to be here a second longer than necessary."

"It's not your fault. Even if Greg and Tamara hadn't kidnapped me, Pan would've found another way. Just like we'll find another way off this island. To be honest, I was expecting more from the dreamcatcher too. I wanted answers and I just got more questions."

"Answers to what?"

Regretting that slip, she thought of a quick excuse. "Just about me, I guess. All my life, I thought it was just me and my parents and now, I have a half-brother, a grandfather who actually cares about me but everyone else is scared of, and an almost grandfather who's a pirate. Maybe I wanted to believe so badly in Pan because it would help me get those answers."

"Pan might've not been able to help you but when we get back, I can."

Faye quietly gasped when he rested his hand over hers, a rush of energy flowing through her fingertips. She retracted her hand, pretending that she saw a beetle on the log.

"Bugs are gross. Sorry."

"It's okay." Unsure of what happened, she kept her hand on her lap as he scooted closer. "I want you to know that I'll always be here for you, whatever you need. You don't have to—"

A gust of wind blew past them, knocking dirt into his eyes. Melanie's laughter ringing in her ears was a clear indicator of the culprit.

"Marcus, are you okay?" Emma helped him up from the log. "Melanie was teaching me a spell. She said it would just blow wind in the trees."

"Guess my math was off. I'm ever so sorry," she said, pretending to wipe a tear from her face.

"It isn't funny. We're supposed to be focused on finding Henry, not playing pranks on—where are you guys going?"

David, Mary Margaret, and Killian were gathering supplies. It took less than five seconds for them to fail at a cover story, with Killian admitting that Pan paid him a visit with the news that Faye's father somehow survived the gunshot wound and arrived on the island. Already hearing that from Melanie, Faye was only half surprised, not expecting to hear that he was in Neverland. Emma proved to be far more skeptical, needing more than Mary Margaret's proof of a scuffle around the camp.

Regina outright refused to believe a single word, thinking it was merely a game. Tired of their lack of progress, she left the camp to save Henry by herself. Mary Margaret, the most optimistic, led them through the jungle.

"Pan does love his games but he's telling the truth," said Killian, his expression oddly familiar. He wouldn't tell me your father's alive if it weren't true."

"Because it messes with you and Emma? When you came back, you looked like I did after Robbie Santiago kissed me at my first boy girl party at Shelly Cooper's house. We moved like two days later and I gave my dad a silent treatment for a week."

"I don't see how that's—don't smirk at me." He lowered his voice as David passed. "Yes, Swan and I…shared a kiss."

"Was it just a peck or full on make out, like tongues and all?"

Flustered by her questions, he stared straight ahead. "I am not discussing such a matter with you. It wouldn't be proper."

"If you're worried about my dad and Emma, I wouldn't be. Ten years is a long time and people change. You're not the same at sixteen as you are in your twenties. Look at me. I thought Robbie Santiago was the love of my life when I was ten but thinking back, I just liked that he had the coolest bike. Emma's not exactly going around kissing guys on the island, not that there's a lot of options but considering how she is, it had to mean something, whether she admits it or not. Don't count yourself out yet."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome. You're lucky you're not competing with me because if we liked the same person, I would destroy you completely until you were nothing but a sniveling mess."

The tracks ended at a cave, the Echo Cave according to Killian. Throughout his years in Neverland, he lost several crew members to the caves, which required a person to divulge their deepest secret. The idea itself sounded silly but it was what Pan wanted, for the secrets to drive a wedge between them at the cost of rescuing Faye's father. Entering the cave, they found him locked in a cage in the middle of a deep chasm.

"Faye! Emma!"

Faye wrestled with her own joy, hesitant to break her promise to her mother but wanting to be reunited with him. Killian, not overly enthusiastic himself, offered to go first, swallowing hard before revealing his kiss with Emma.  
"You did what?!" said David.

"Don't Reina Carlisle this," said Faye, shaking her head. "Did you hear a word I said? That's the Mr. Carlisle face. Abort. Choose something else."

Emma sighed. "I already told Mary Margaret and for some reason, I guess you told Faye, which makes it awkward, so technically it's not a secret. It was just a kiss. How is that your darkest secret?"

Killian admitted that the kiss exposed something, that he was able to let go of Milah and find love again. The ground beneath them shook, a bridge beginning to form near her father's cage. From that sweet sentiment, the secrets went downhill, with Mary Margaret admitting that she wanted another baby to David's own confession that he had been hit by an arrow laced with dreamshade and to save his life, Killian gave him enchanted water with the price of staying in Neverland.

"I'm jealous of you." Marcus's hazel eyes rested on a dubious Melanie. "Of what you have. All my life, I've just taken orders. Snow and David have given me so much but sometimes, I wish I was able to just do as I please. That's why you get under my skin so easily, because I'm jealous of that freedom."

The bridge was nearly complete. Faye could not even think of another secret, one of equal weight to what she saw in her mother's memories.

"Marcus, you shouldn't feel—"

"I tried to hook up with Belle."

Faye interrupted David's attempt at comfort, hoping it was like ripping off a bandage. All of their heads turned in her direction.

"What?" asked Emma, stunned.

"Okay, technically it was Lacey but I didn't know who she was at the time. I was drinking and scamming Regina's knights out of money through pool and if grandpa didn't show up, I probably would've taken her back to the inn. So my secret is that I almost hooked up with my almost stepgrandma. So wild." She rocked back and forth on her heels. "Whoo, good to get that out. Who's next?"

"Nothing happened, Faye."

"Yeah, it did. The bridge definitely moved. Next person."

"It's okay. Whatever you have to say, we're—"

"I'll go," offered Melanie.

Spilling a secret was asking a lot from someone as emotionally closed off as Emma. Melanie took several deep breaths, keeping her eyes on the ceiling.

"Melanie, it'll be all right," assured Mary Margaret.

"Nope, but good try."

After another minute, she finally tore her eyes away from the ceiling and looked at Faye. She had never seen Melanie so shaken.

"I didn't just come here because of stupid muffins. I said that because—when my dad banished me, he didn't only take most of my magic. He cursed me. He won't let come home until it's broken and I spent centuries trying and I didn't think it would ever happen until I met you in the pawn shop." Her breath caught in her throat. "I know I act like I don't care about anything but I do…about you. My secret is that I really wanted it to be you that broke the curse, even though I know it'll never happen."

The ground shook once more, the bridge now fully formed. Faye hurried out of the cave in search of Melanie, finding her atop one of the trees.

"You know," she said, sitting on a branch below her. "You'd be surprised how many people say they like me and then run away."

"Somehow, I doubt it," she muttered. "What do you want? Shouldn't you be with daddy dearest?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"That's a great conversation starter." She threw an acorn into the distance. "Hey, my dad cursed me because he thinks I'm a selfish bitch but I think you can break it. You know how it played out in my head every time? You running off, thinking I'm nuts. In one scenario, you slapped me and then went off on your picture perfect date with Marcus. That was a hell of a nightmare."

"I can think of another scenario." Faye climbed onto her branch. "I stay and say that I want to help. I don't even think about running away."

"Pfft, yeah. We'll be the next Snow and Charming, the disgraced daughter of the god of the underworld and miss perfect. It wouldn't work in any realm. That's the cruel irony of my dad's curse. It'll never—"

Her pessimism was silenced by Faye's lips over hers. It felt like a dozen fireworks burst inside Faye's chest, that same indescribable feeling she's been getting since arriving in Neverland but times a thousand. Their noses still touching, she looked into her vibrant green eyes.

"Infinite possibilities. In this one, maybe it does work because I like you too. I'm not ready to call it true love yet but I'm willing to find out, if you are. What do you say?"

"If you're Pan playing one of your dumb games, I will literally tear out your guts through your throat."

"No games, not while my dad's around anyway. I know it wasn't easy admitting that but it helped save him so I want to show that I trust you too." Faye moved back slightly. "I lied about the dreamcatcher."

"What do you mean?"

"I did see my parents meet but there was more to it. She made a deal with Pan to get revenge on someone. I saw another memory too. It was her and Pan on a beach and she was holding me as a baby. She said someone hijacked Regina's curse to travel to the same land but without getting trapped, the same person who hurt her before, and she got a bracelet from him, this bracelet."

"But how did she get back to Neverland? Wasn't she born in the land without magic? Why did he give you that bracelet?"

"I don't know. She said it was to keep me hidden from bad people. I've only taken it off once and nothing happened but she made it seem like such a big deal. Weird things have been happening ever since I got here and I think it has to do with the bracelet. She told me not to tell anyone but I trust you."

Climbing down from the tree, she was greeted by a bone-crushing hug. She buried her face in her father's shoulder, holding back tears. Neither of them wanted to be the first to let go.

"I should've listened to you, kiddo. You were right about her. Did they hurt you?" He checked her face for any cuts or bruises. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I never thought I'd see you again."

"I'm never leaving your side. We're getting Henry back and getting the hell out of here. I promise."

"We should head back to the camp, get everything ready." said David.

"Ready to go."

She laced her fingers through Melanie's. Her father's eyes flickered between the two of them before looking to Emma for an explanation.

"Oh, we're dating as of ten seconds ago. I'm gonna break her curse so she can go home again and make up with Hades, who is also her dad. How awesome is that?"

"You're breaking her what?"

"With true love's kiss. Hasn't happened yet but when it does, it'll be epic and put all others to shame."


	6. The Trap

"Are you sure about this?"

"No, but we should try now since it's only the time we'll get any privacy. It might not be that bad."

Waving her hand around her head, Melanie created an invisible barrier around the secluded clearing. They decided it was best to remove Faye's bracelet in a quiet spot, in case there were any side effects. Her mother's memories provided little information about the piece of jewelry, aside from it being given to her by Pan and hiding Faye in some way.

"On three." Faye began to undo the clasp. "One, two—"

"Hey champ, where did you run off t—oh."

The others, now including Tinkerbell, stumbled upon the two girls in the midst of a passionate kiss, Melanie's petite frame against a tree. Faye shifted her hands away from her waist, pretending to be surprised.

"Oops. We were just—well, you know what we were doing but uh before that, we were having one of those hero talks." Her explanation was met with silence. "You know, like in the movies when the hero is like 'We might die so this might be the last time we get to do this' and then they have this like really big kiss. Not that I think we'll die. Our plan has no problems at all. We'll definitely beat Pan."

"Good to see you're so confident," said Emma, suspicious of Faye's cover story. "We're headed to the camp now."

As she went to follow them through the jungle, she felt a tug on her wrist. Melanie handed her the bracelet, eyeing her warily.

"Any urge for blood or to murder us in our sleep?" Faye shook her head. "No wings or eyes changing color…yet. Maybe you need a trigger."

"Like what?"

"Strong emotions. Fear worked for me. I cast my first spell when I hit my dad's pet dog on the nose and all three heads started growling. It just turned him blue for a few minutes, nothing major."

Armed and ready for a fight, they headed towards the eastern side of the island. Though they were all focused on the plan to save Henry, Faye noticed a slight tension among the group, whether it was David and Mary Margaret still dealing with his permanent stay in Neverland, the brewing, unspoken love triangle between her father, Emma, and Killian, or the constant animosity between Marcus and Melanie.

She walked alongside her father, who occasionally glanced back at a determined Emma. Ever since their visit to Dark Hollow to capture Pan's shadow, a key component of the escape plan, they had not spoken a word to each other. Faye knew better than to ask questions, especially one pertaining to romance. He had acted the same when he dated Tamara, though she never minded the lack of public affection in front of her.

"Maybe it's best if you wait by the ship." Marcus pushed back a branch for her. "Pan could be one step ahead of us and he's not someone to take lightly. I think your father would agree with me."  
"Then it's a good thing I'm capable of making my own decisions."

"You're not—"

Hearing a rustling in the bushes, he raised his sword. The others did the same with their weapons, lowering them when her grandfather and Regina emerged. Melanie rolled her eyes, the ball of silver light between her hands vanishing in an instant. She had mentioned that he ditched the rest of the group minutes after arriving in Neverland, claiming that he was the only one who could retrieve Faye and Henry.

"Faye," he said, relieved at the sight of her.

Her father grabbed her arm, pinning her to his side. She was confused by the distrustful look on his face, even as Regina explained their own plan: to trap Pan inside Pandora's box. His strange behavior was soon explained when he revealed that her grandfather planned to murder Henry, not rescue him, thanks to a prophecy that pointed to his own grandson as his undoing. The others, including Regina, turned on him, believing that he left the ship to get Henry alone, before they could stop his nefarious plan.

Breaking free from her father's grasp, she moved between them. "Whoa, time out. This plan isn't going to work unless we're together. Pan wants us to be divided because if we're busy fighting each other, he can go off and take Henry's soul or whatever the hell he's planning. Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding, maybe it's not, but we can deal with all that drama after we get Henry back."

"We don't need him for that," pointed out Marcus.

"For once, I agree with the knight," said Regina, conjuring a fireball. "If you think I'll let you lay a hand on my son—"

Faye chucked a pebble at her head, causing the former evil queen to snarl in her direction. Melanie appeared in front of her, silver sparks bouncing off her fingertips.

"Try it and when we get Henry back, he'll be hugging your ashes."

"Enough of this. Faye is right. Rescuing Henry requires a united front and without me, you will fail. I'm the most powerful amongst us."

"Uh false. I could punt you off this island with a flick of my pinky so no, we don't need you." Faye pinched her arm. "What? We don't. Stop giving me that look. Even with what my dad took, I'm still—we don't need him! What is it gonna take to talk sense into you?"

To gain their trust, her father suggested handing over Pandora's box instead of his supposedly hidden dagger. He warned that if her grandfather cast a single spell, no matter how small, he would be trapped inside the box instead of Pan. Still reluctant to have him amongst them, they continued towards Pan's camp.

"Thank you for trying to help them see reason." He stopped himself from hugging her. "Best if we don't. Your father is a bit on edge at the moment. I would rather you never heard any of that."

"Is it true?"

"Faye—"

"Never the start to a good answer," she said, crossing her arms. "How do you know this prophecy is bad? Maybe undoing means you won't be cursed anymore and you get to live a normal life with Belle. It's not like Henry's going to stab you while you're in bed one night."

"Prophecies rarely have good outcomes but all I care about is keeping both of you safe. That is why I'm here to confront Pan. I'm the only one who can stop him. It's been that way since he became who he is today. It's a complicated tale but my life is tethered to his. Peter Pan was born, in a way, because of me and if I sacrifice myself, he will die along with me."

"I didn't make that speech defending you so you could die."

"And I won't. That's why we have the box. Call it a loophole. It takes care of Pan and keeps me alive." His eyes passed over her inquisitively. "Did something happen when you were with Pan?"

"Besides being stared at by teenage boys who probably haven't seen a girl in decades and sleeping inside a tree? Nope. Wh—"

Faye cupped her hand over her neck, feeling a soft prick. Her vision blurred and she collapsed, just as a shadowy figure descended upon her.

She was woken up by a gentle nudge to her side. Her hands had been bound together with shackles, the others in the same predicament. To her left was her father, sporting a nasty cut on his cheek, and Melanie was to her right, unable to so much as lift a finger. Emma, Regina, and her grandfather looked similar, suggesting that the shackles affected their magic.

"Squid ink," explained Melanie, struggling to move her hands. "It's inside the shackles."

"Doesn't it wear off?"

"Not as long as it's contact with the skin," she heard. "Bit different than what they're used to back home."

Nick was sitting on a log, three other lost boys behind him, but instead of their tattered clothes, they were dressed like any other boy she would pass on the street. His style reminded her of the punks at the skate park.

"Why does Pan have you dressed like that?" asked David, indicating their clothes. "Is he planning to invade other lands? What does that have to do with Henry?"

"Pan's not our concern. He decided to part ways with the home office but we're here to ensure their deal remains intact. What he wants doesn't matter."

"The home—isn't that Pan?"

"No, he was merely using our resources and when it was time for him to hold up his end, he was stupid enough to think he could back out and pursue his own agenda. Our allegiance isn't to Pan, only the Phoenix."

From the corner of her eye, she noticed her grandfather tense up slightly. Nick bent down in front of her, holding a small dagger under her chin. Her eyes momentarily lingered on his wrist before meeting his own, daring him to make a move.

"If you hurt her, I swear I'll—"

One of the boys, the tallest of the four and very twitchy, snapped his fingers and tape appeared over her father's mouth. His attempt to reach for her made them snigger.

"I won't touch a single hair if she cooperates. Where is it, pageant queen?"

"Where's what?"

"Don't play dumb. She said your precious mommy left you something special."

"Who's she, your imaginary girlfriend?"

With just his touch, the shackles fell from her wrists and he dragged her to the edge of the cliff. The only thing keeping her from plummeting into the rocky water below was his hand on the back of her sweater. He dangled her farther out when Melanie doled out a few creative threats.

"Another word and she's dinner for the mermaids. All she has to do is tell me what I want to hear and I'll let her go. Feel free to chip in to save your baby girl, daddy dearest."

"No one has any idea what you're talking about, you psycho." Her body trembled as he purposely loosened his grip. "My mom was just some baker from New Orleans. What do you want, one of her recipes?"

"She's never wrong. She said it was with you so I suggest you start talking or you won't make it to senior prom." Faye remained silent. "No? Let's try another tactic."

Nick tossed her aside like a piece of trash. As she lifted her head, her hands felt warm and she glanced down to see that her palms were glowing bright red. The veins in her hands became more pronounced and though it only lasted a few seconds, that feeling she experienced since arriving in Neverland returned, coursing through her entire body.

She turned around to see Nick's arm tightly wrapped around her father's throat, the tape off his mouth and a gun pointed at his head. His friends pointed swords and arrows at the others, ready to put any of them in her father's place. Mary Margaret went for the optimistic route, imploring them to put down the weapons and have a civil discussion.

"Killing us won't jog her memory," said Marcus, calmly. "If she says she doesn't know, she's telling the truth. It doesn't mean we can't help each other. If you help us with Pan, we'll help you find whatever it is you're looking for, Nick."

"Let's test that theory." He turned towards Faye. "You were so sad when you thought you lost your daddy. If you don't give me what I want, I'll make you a real orphan."

Her fists clenched. "Get away from him."

"Are you not understanding this situation? Maybe you're not actually that smart. _I'm_ the one with a gun, not you. I'm the one with the power here. What happens next depends on you. If we don't get what we want, your little brother won't be the only one in danger tonight and all that blood will be on your hands."

"Let him go."

"Give me what I want and he lives. Keep up this little game and—"

A strong wind blew through the island, bringing a torrential downpour. One of the boys jumped when lightning struck a nearby tree, turning it into dust. The lightning snaked through the dark sky, among rumbling thunder, and the wind grew even stronger, nearly tearing another tree in half.

"LET HIM GO!"

An invisible force slammed into her chest, lifting her off her feet and sending her flying into the air. She crashed onto her back and as she sat up, her eyes widened at half of the jungle around her being nothing more than piles of debris. There was no sign of Nick or his friends and all she wanted was to hunt them down.

Melanie kneeled by her side, no longer frozen. "Hey, it's all good," she said, talking to her like a toddler.

"W—what happened?"

"You're okay, I'm okay, your dad's okay…everyone's okay so let's just slip that bracelet back on, huh?" She started to wrap the bracelet around Faye's wrist but it suddenly shattered into tiny pieces. "Or not."

"Where are they?"

"Your dad and everyone else? Right behind us. You hit your head pretty hard. Let me fix you up and—"

"I meant Nick."

"Well, Pan must've found out that he was a traitor and he took care of them. He probably locked them in some cages."

"No, he's not far. I can feel him. We need to find him."

"You can feel—" Faye stood up, ignoring the pain in her head. "Okay, slow down. We're not here to deal with stupid teenage boys. The important thing is finding Henry. Why don't the two of us stand guard here in case any lost boys show up while the rest—"

As she lifted Melanie's hand from her shoulder, that feeling returned and this time, she wanted more. Melanie stumbled a bit, her breath shaky.

"F—Faye, I—I can't—y—you need to let go."

Faye was knocked back by a jet of purple light. Clutching her stomach, she looked up to find the others staring at her with mixed expressions of confusion, apprehension, and surprise. Her father no longer had a gun pointed at him but he kept his distance, still frightened. Melanie, the closest to her, was rubbing her hand in pain.

"W—what happened?"

Before Melanie could even speak, she was interrupted by shouting from Faye's father. He accused her grandfather of using magic to mess with her ("Now I get why she spent all that time in your shop!") despite Emma attempting to calm him down, her hands on his chest. Faye realized that all the strange looks and debris were her doing.

"Son, I didn't cause this." Her grandfather's dark eyes did not stray from Pandora's box, unsure if he was about to be its newest occupant. "I had no inkling until we were reunited. That is why Faye seemed different. Being in a land of magic must have unlocked her true potential."

"I—I did this?"

Hearing the tremble in her voice, Melanie reached out to her in reassurance but Faye stepped back, anxious to so much as touch her pinky.

"Everyone, shut up!"

Her voice echoed across the jungle, silencing the arguing adults. Melanie ran her fingers through her short hair in frustration, the shattered bracelet in her other hand.

"As much as I hate to defend the scaly prick, he didn't do anything to her. It's been happening for awhile." She looked at Faye. "That's why you were acting weird in Regina's office when we were setting up all those pranks."

"Excuse me?" said Regina, sounding like a stern high school principal.

"We're talking about Faye. Despite what you think, not everything is about your never-ending 'woe is me' pity party." Mary Margaret gripped Regina's arm, before she could conjure one of her signature fireballs. "I should've recognized it sooner but now it makes sense. Faye's a siphon."

The others, even Faye, did not share her admiration. Aside from Killian and her grandfather, they all thought she was speaking another language. Melanie explained that siphons were able to absorb magic from objects and fellow magic users, to fuel their own magic. Her theory was that the bracelet inhibited Faye's magic but over the years, its magic began to weaken due to Faye's own growing strength, leading to her so-called illness.

"Every land has magic in it, some a lot stronger than others, but you must've been tapping into that tiny bit of it. You were seeing into other realms."

"She's had that bracelet since she was born," said her father, dismissively. "Her mother gave it to her. It doesn't have any magic."

"Really? Cause the dreamcatcher says differently. We found it in your little hideout, the same place where you two had your meet cute, not whatever story you've been telling Faye all this time."

"Neal, what is she talking about?" asked Emma. "You met Morgan _here_? Was she—"

"No," he insisted, avoiding her gaze. "I mean, we did meet here. It was a few years before we escaped. She's the reason I adjusted so quickly to the land without magic, because she was from there, not some other realm. She didn't know about this either."

"You sure about that?" said Melanie, not believing a single word. "How did she get back here then? Faye saw that too, her meeting with Pan to get the bracelet. Guess you weren't the only one keeping secrets."

"Or you're completely wrong and—"

"Enough," Emma lowered her hands. "We don't have time to be fighting each other. Let's focus on getting Henry and getting the hell out of here. Then we can figure out what just happened."

"I'll take Faye back to the ship and we'll wait for you there," offered Marcus. "It's best if she gets some rest and since I don't have magic, she'll be safe. I won't let her out of my sight, Neal. That's a promise."

Upon returning to the ship, Faye locked herself in the captain's quarters. She was afraid to touch a single thing, not willing to risk that it had some hidden magical property and could trigger an explosion. Hours passed and there was still no news or any sign of the others. Standing in front of the mirror, she stared at her reflection, her fingers tracing over the deep cut on the side of her head.

"Don't want that getting infected. He may be a pirate but I will admit, he cares about his crew. It's almost admirable."

Marcus entered the room, carrying a bowl of water and Killian's box of medical supplies. He nodded towards the empty bed but Faye continued to stand, not taking her eyes off the mirror. She tensed up when he gently placed his hand on her back, leading her over to the bed.

"I don't think his bed is hiding any magic." He dipped a rag into the bowl. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?" she asked, wincing as the rag pressed against her wound. "How everyone thinks I'm some monster now? My dad couldn't even come near me. He probably thinks I'm a mini Dark One."

"No one thinks that." He lowered the rag. "Your father was understandably confused and a bit frightened. You never showed any signs of magical ability before and considering his past, it makes sense that he would be wary of your grandfather's involvement. It's not as if you simply conjured a flower out of thin air. What you did was…"

"Horrible."

"I was going to say impressive. It was quite the display of power. It's no wonder Pan has an interest in you."

"Yeah, because I'm a disaster waiting to happen."

Marcus tilted her chin up, taking her eyes off the wooden floor. "Don't think that way. You don't have control over your abilities…yet. In time, you will and you won't see it as a burden. You're lucky you have a father that cares so much for you. I never knew mine and as for my mother, she abandoned me the second I was born. She couldn't look past her own selfish desires but your father is different. He puts you above anything else, no matter what."

Faye found herself unable to share in his optimism. The partially destroyed jungle, an injured Melanie, and her father's fear replayed in her head on a constant loop. How was dating Melanie even possible if a single touch could send her into crippling pain? As the events played over again for the millionth time, she remembered something strange.

"How did you know his name?" Marcus stopped rinsing the rag. "Nick. Have you met before?"

"No. I overheard you talking to Melanie about your experiences at Pan's camp. I just assumed it was him, based on his demeanor."

"That's a pretty good guess if jerk lost boy is your only hint."

Feeling her tone was a bit harsh, she apologized, her worries over her newfound magic and escaping the island alive making her a paranoid mess. It only worsened when a piece of paper appeared out of thin air, a warning from Melanie. Pan, fully aware of their presence, set up a trap at the camp and they were being held captive at Skull Rock. He planned to rip out Henry's heart, his means of achieving immortality instead of saving magic as he claimed to the lost boys, and it would lead to Henry's own death.

Her ears perked up at a rustling sound outside the ship. Marcus quelled her fears, certain it was just a passing animal or the wind.

"Considering that magic blast, Nick and his goons won't be ready for round two for awhile. I'm sure any minute now, everyone, including Henry, will be back and then this island will be a distant memory."

"Did you not read her note?" she said, jumping down from the bed. "I should be out there, throwing spells at Pan until he's just a pile of goo or something."

Marcus blocked the door. "Faye, you have no idea how your magic works. The others are more than capable. Pan doesn't stand a chance against your grandfather."

"Maybe he does. He said to beat Pan, he had to die too and I can't—we just met. I can't lose him already. Family doesn't leave each other behind, especially not when they're up against some psycho. Let's go. Killian taught me how to sail the ship. Skull Rock isn't far."

"We're not leaving this ship. I told your father I'd keep you safe here and that's final. You are not getting through this door."

"Maybe I don't have to."

Mimicking Melanie, she swirled her hand. A cloud of dark blue smoke soon enveloped the lower half of her body, rising higher by the second. As the ship faded from view, Marcus leaped forward to grab her wrist.

"The only person Pan's interested in saving is himself."

Neal watched as Regina's words fell on deaf ears. Just as he had seen countless times, Henry's stay in Neverland made him susceptible to Pan's lies. The master manipulator convinced him that he was solely capable of saving magic in not just Neverland, but all the realms. The urge to just grab Henry and run was stymied by the fact that his father was nowhere to be found and Neal doubted that Regina and Emma, barely one lesson into understanding her magic, could stop Pan.

"Pan can't live without you dying," he said, hoping that he could somehow get through to his newly found son. "If you give him your heart, it's gonna kill you."

Pan effortlessly played on his desire to be a hero. As Emma tried to get through to him, they could see the tiniest doubt flicker across his face.

"Your parents don't care about Neverland, Henry," countered Pan, sensing his hold beginning to slip. "They know if you give your heart to save it, then you'll have to stay and they're being selfish because they don't want to lose you. They don't care that every minute wasted is another minute closer to Faye dying."

Understanding what drove Henry to trust Pan so quickly, Neal shook his head. "No, she's fine."

"He told me that she has magic, that because she grew up in a land where no one believes, she couldn't use it and it's hurting her," explained Henry. "The heart of the truest believer can restore magic and then she'll be okay."

"He told you that because he knows you'd do anything for your family, that you don't want to see any of us hurt. It's a lie. She's on the Jolly Roger with Marcus right now and once Pan's done with you, he'll go after her. He doesn't want to help her, Henry."

"Of course he'd say that," said Pan, his eyes on the giant hourglass filling with sand. "As good as you think he is, he doesn't want you to save her. All he sees when he looks at her is his father and all that pain magic caused him. He thinks Faye would be better dead than with her gifts. He'd gladly see magic be destroyed, even if it meant losing his daughter."

"Don't you ever—"

Emma pressed her hand against his chest. Punching Pan across the face would not get Henry to side with them, not when his mind was warped from all of the lies. Their words of encouragement proved futile, even when it seemed that they were getting through to him, as he plunged his heart into Pan's chest, immediately collapsing to the ground.

Faye watched her father, Emma, and Regina kneeling beside an unconscious Henry. Floating several feet in the air, Pan observed them with a smug satisfaction. The only thing stopping her from setting him on fire was Marcus, still reeling from the sudden journey and keeping her hidden behind a large boulder. Her fists clenched as Pan taunted them, revealing that he trapped her grandfather inside Pandora's box.

"Unfortunately for you, he can't hurt me anymore and neither can you."

"Really?" Emma, looking like she wanted to slice off his head, made a quick jab with her sword, nicking his arm. "How did that feel?"

"Like a tickle."

Elbowing Marcus in the stomach, Faye stepped out from the boulder and pushed out her hand. A jet of silver light struck Pan's chest, sending him flying into the nearest wall.

"How about that, asshole?" He picked himself up, smirking. "You won't be smirking for long when I slit you open to get that heart out. Give it back."

Electric sparks bounced off her fingertips. When Henry had given Pan his heart, a wave of green light washed over the island and as it passed over Faye, it felt as if she could lift an entire building with her bare hands. Her father moved in front of her, allowing Pan to escape into the starless sky.

"Why did you—I could've—he has Henry's heart and grandpa!"

"And we'll get both back. You don't know what you're doing, Faye. Last time you used magic, you obliterated part of a jungle. How did you even get here? You're supposed to be on the ship."

"Melanie sent a note. She said that you guys were in danger and I just thought about coming here and it happened. But you're not tied up or anything…"

"Pan must've sent the note to bait you."

"Then maybe we should do the same." He turned towards Regina, whose eyes were burning through Faye. "He has some sort of plan for her, obviously involving her magic. I say we use her to draw him out."

"Are you insane? We're not putting Faye's life in danger again. There has to be another way to find him."

"My son is dying!"

" _Our_ son," corrected Emma.

Arriving back at Pan's camp, her plan to use Faye as 'bait' was met with outright refusal and dozens of threats from Melanie. Faye's own support for the plan, only caring about Henry's safety, immediately got shot down and she listened to them toss ideas back and forth, the preservation spell weakening with each passing minute. Regina resorted to plan b, threatening to rip the heart of any lost boy who kept quiet about Pan's whereabouts.

Emma soon intervened, appealing to their hope for a home and family. The boys revealed that Pan was likely near his thinking tree, somewhere off limits to all those on the island but him. As they discussed the final details of their escape plan, Faye caught Marcus's eye before leaving the camp. She sat on the ground, her head between her knees.

"Faye, you really shouldn't wander—is something wrong? We're going to save Henry. You don't need to worry."

"It's not Henry. I—I haven't been completely honest. I know why Pan wants me. It's the same reason Nick and his friends nearly killed us." Tears in her eyes, she glanced up at him. "Something else happened with the dream catcher. One minute, my mom and Pan were talking and the next, she was talking to me."

"T—to you?" He shook his head in disbelief. "That's not—you told me she died. How could she talk to you in a memory? That's impossible. She's been dead for years."

"I don't know but she told me about some weapon, something really powerful. Maybe she found out about it when she was in Neverland. She told me she hid it on the island, after she got the bracelet from Pan. It's in a cave that looks like a shark's fin in Pirate Cove."

"Did she tell you what this weapon is? A talisman or a wand? Some sort of creature?"

"No, just that it was inside the cave, locked in an old treasure chest of Killian's. She said if it fell into the wrong hands, it could cause so much destruction. Maybe only my magic can unlock it. That could be why Pan wants me…to take my magic so he can get the weapon."

"I doubt it," he said, wringing his hands. "How could she know you'd ever come here? She never intended for you to use your magic. It doesn't matter. Pan won't get his hands on it. We're going to defeat him."

"We should tell everyone. Maybe we could split up and some of us could go to the thinking tree while the others—"

"No, no, terrible idea." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "It's best to keep this between us. A power like that is dangerous. As much as you want to believe in Hook and your grandfather, if they knew such a weapon existed, they could attempt to get it for themselves. Regina could do the same. She's only just started trying to be good but it only takes one slip for her to descend back into darkness. Henry wouldn't want that."

Agreeing with him, she led the lost boys to the ship while Emma, Regina, and Mary Margaret searched for Pan. All of them, except an enraged Felix, were eager to leave the island.

"You better not be avoiding me."

She shut the medicine chest, smoothing out the pockets of her skirt. Melanie was standing in the doorway and with each step she took, Faye moved back to maintain a short distance.

"I'm not. I was um—just getting something for my cut. Why would I be avoiding you?"

"Because of what happened before. It didn't hurt me, princess." She bit her bottom lip. "Okay, It hurt like a bitch but it wasn't your fault. I've been through worse. A few lessons and you'll have it under control."

"Or maybe I never will. Maybe this is fate saying that—"

"First of all, I know the fates and they all suck so we're not consulting them. They can kiss my ass. You don't need to push me away because you're scared of that home office. They think they're tough but I bet they've never faced an angry goddess. If that punk Nick or any of his friends lays a hand on you again, I'll teach them a lesson."

In a split second, she had closed the gap between them. Her hand pushed back a strand of hair falling over Faye's face, her fingers careful not to make contact with any exposed skin.

"As long as I'm around, you're safe. That's a promise."

They returned above deck, passing by lost boys aiding with the rigging. Joining Killian at the wheel, she stared out at the island. Her stomach twisted into a million knots.

"It'll be over soon, lass," he assured her, sensing her unease. "This island will be nothing more than a distant memory. We're nearly ready to set sail. It could be done a bit faster with another helping hand."

Melanie scoffed at his raised brow. "Uh nice try but these hands are not meant for menial labor. Where's the noble knight? I'm surprised he isn't doing all this himself to impress his mommy and daddy."

"This isn't the time for your poor sense of humor," said David, carrying blankets over to the younger lost boys.

"I'm sorry," whispered Faye.

Moving her hand from her pocket, she grabbed Melanie's hands, coating them with squid ink. It was one of the vials among the various poisons in the medicine chest.

"What are you doing?" asked her father, an unconscious Henry at his feet. A shield formed around the ship. "What's going on?"

"I need a head start. I don't know how long it'll last but hopefully long enough so I can protect you. I'm not even sure I did that right. There isn't enough time to explain. I'll be back."

"Fa—"

She vanished from the deck, with an apologetic look towards a frozen Melanie, landing outside an oddly shaped cave. It looked similar to the drawing on Killian's map. Holding the cutlass, she stepped inside the cave, hearing lots of banging and crashing sounds. At the end of the long, winding tunnel was Marcus, digging through all sorts of treasures.

"You're wasting your time."

He jumped up among the piles of gold coins, jewels, and treasure chests. "Faye, you're—how—"

"What the hell is going on?"

The others, except for Henry and Regina, were behind her, no longer trapped on the ship. Emma questioned why they were inside some cave instead of getting ready to leave Neverland for good. Revealing their earlier conversation, Marcus explained that he thought Pan could have overheard them and he wanted to hide the weapon somewhere else.

"Like I said, you're wasting your time. It's not here."

"Of course it is. Your mother told you—she said it was in this cave. You must be right about your magic being the key to finding it."

"I made it all up," she said, plainly. "I had a theory so I decided to test it. See, you were nowhere near me and Mel when I was telling her about Pan's camp. You were off getting firewood with David. That means you couldn't have heard me talk about Nick but you didn't need to because you knew him already."

"How is that possible? I was under the curse when he was brought to Neverland."

"Because you both work for the home office. You came here to find the weapon and bring it to them."

The moment she said it, she knew it sounded insane. Even Melanie was skeptical of such a claim, considering his pristine reputation. Marcus stifled a laugh.

"That blow to the head must've jumbled your brains a little." He turned towards David. "You're going to let her slander me like this? I've been your loyal protector, before she was even born."

"Faye, I don't know what started this strange idea but Marcus has always been faithful to our kingdom. He'd have no reason to cause someone harm."

Ignoring David, she stepped towards the 'noble knight'. "You have the same tattoos on your wrist. My theory? That's your little symbol. Why else would you be so interested in the dreamcatcher? You thought my mom left some kind of clue, something about the weapon. You flipped out when I broke it."

"If this is some prank of Melanie's, it's gone far enough. You had your fun." Melanie conjured a fireball in her hand. "This is beneath you. We should be on the ship, heading home, not playing one of your silly games."

"You're a liar. You've been playing the long con by pretending to be this paragon of virtue and courage, the perfect little knight." His fists clenched. "I mean, look at them now. No one's willing to believe that underneath the goody two shoes routine, you're helping the people who nearly destroyed their home and took me and Henry. They don't want to believe that sweet, perfect Marcus is actually a psychopath."

"The only one who believes your ridiculous theory is the real psychopath. All you've done is waste our time with your childish games, sending me to a random place for nothing."

"Actually, no. It wasn't random."

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small rusty mirror. She pointed to an identical mirror on the back wall, both belonging to Killian. All those years on an island where time stood still made him a bit paranoid about his many treasures. To ensure no lost boys were sneaking in to steal it, he used the pair of enchanted mirrors to monitor the cave at any time.

Tapping the mirror, the glass shimmered before showing Marcus and Nick in deep conversation. Though there was no sound, the image alone was damning enough. Mary Margaret and David looked the most heartbroken, considering him family.

"Aren't you clever?"

Any trace of the noble knight was gone. The others suddenly slammed into the wall, the rock seeping over them from the neck down. Faye was about to help them when her feet sunk into the ground, a circle of pale red dust surrounding her.

"L—let them go. Whatever you're looking for, I'll help you find it. Just let them go home."

He let out a crazed laugh. "I don't need your help. I already have."

She tensed up when he cupped her cheek. He leaned his forehead against hers, his thumb brushing against her lips.

"It's better than I hoped. I had a feeling when we first met but after what I saw you do to those fools, I knew it. Now I don't have to choose."

"If you don't get away from her, I'll turn you inside out," Melanie snarled, beginning to break the solid rock around her hands.

"You don't even see it, do you?" he asked, grinning. "You really have gotten weak. All that time spent wallowing around in self pity, waiting for daddy's forgiveness, made you soft while I got stronger."

Marcus blocked Faye's fist before it reached his face and a nauseous feeling washed over her. Within seconds, she found it hard to stand on her own two feet. The dust glowed and a swirling portal formed beneath them.

"The phoenix is such a fitting name, isn't it? I quite literally rose from the ashes."

She had never seen such fear on Melanie's face. Just as she managed to break herself free from the wall, her hands glowing bright silver, Faye fell through the portal and landed in complete darkness. She could not get a sense of her surroundings, still latched to his side. He gently placed her on the concrete floor. Swinging her fists, she hoped to connect with his face or any other part of his body but she was merely hitting air. His lips pressed against the top of her head.

"Don't be scared. We're home, little sister."


	7. The Haven

As the darkness lifted, due to the glow of a familiar penguin-shaped lamp, she found herself not in some dank, moldy cell but an exact replica of her bedroom. If it were not for Marcus, she would have believed that the past few weeks were nothing more than a strange dream. She pinched her arm, hoping for that to be true, but she remained on the floor, staring at her former friend turned kidnapper.

With a snap of his fingers, a bowl of ice cream appeared in front of her. "It's cookie dough, from your favorite shop in the city." She continued to stare at him, subtly noticing that his accent had changed to something more similar to Killian's. "I'm sure you're hungry. You've been eating nothing but berries the past few days. If you want something else, just say the word."

"I want to go home."

He looked at her as if she asked to be sent to the moon. "You are home. This is your real home. We're family."

"You really think I believe that?" she spat. "Family doesn't kidnap each other."

His jaw tightened. "You think they would've let you go with me willingly? I saw how your father looked at you when you blasted back Nick and the others. You weren't his sweet little girl anymore," he said, echoing Pan's words. "He only saw a monster. He'd rather believe that Rumplestiltskin cursed you in some way than to see how special you are. Why would you want to go back to that?"

Faye scooted back as he kneeled by her side. He cupped her face again, his thumb brushing against her cheek.

"I'm the only family you need. I've waited so long for this. When we met in Storybrooke, I wanted to leave right then and there but I needed to be sure."

"Sure of what?" she asked, repulsed by his touch.

"That you had what we were looking for. Mistakes can't be tolerated, not with something this important. You don't have to be afraid here. You're capable of so much, Faye, and we can help you realize that potential." He lowered his hand at a knock on the door. "I have a meeting to get to but after that, I'll come back."

"Or I could just go with you. You can tell me all about how we're somehow family and what you want from me."

"I see what you're doing," he said, looking more amused than angry. "For now, it's better if you remain in here...until we decide you're ready."

As he opened the door, a redheaded girl in her late twenties, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, stepped into the room. She waved at Faye, as if this was all normal.

"I'll be back, Faye." His smile swiftly fell, replaced with a harsh glare towards the girl. "If I find out she was in any pain, you'll answer to me. Understood?"

"Y—yes, sir," she replied, bowing her head.

He vanished in a cloud of dark red smoke. With a flick of her wrist, the girl pulled the chair by the desk towards her. Taking the hint, Faye sat down, thousands of questions in her head but unsure of which to ask first. She jumped when the girl placed her hand on her chest.

"Just relax," she said, calmly. "A typical physical, nothing more. We need to make sure you didn't contract anything on that horrid island. I've never been there but I can't imagine an island of teenage boys is concerned with hygiene. This is all standard for anyone who enters The Haven."

"Is that where we are?"

The girl's palm glowed bright blue. "Yep, exclusive to only the inner circle. It's like the ultimate reward. I was a healer back home, one of the best, so that gave me a leg up. I'm Amelia, by the way."

"Back home? Aren't we in the Enchanted Forest?"

"We're in New Orleans." Seeing her confusion, she stifled a laugh. "It's a long story."

"If you have magic, you can send me back to my family. They're in Storybrooke. Even if you drop me off in Maine, that's fine. I'll find a way to—"

Amelia retracted her hand, as if Faye's chest was made of fire. Keeping her eyes on the floor, she headed towards the door.

"Hey!"

"Exam's over. You seem fine to me. I'm not risking my heart getting crushed. Pissing off the Phoenix? That's a ticket straight to the Underworld. You'll get used to this place. We all do eventually."

She shut the door behind her before Faye could even make another plea. Realizing she could only rely on herself, Faye paced around the room, thinking of possible escape plans. Catching her reflection in the mirror on her vanity table, she recalled a night at the pawn shop, when Belle lost her memories. Her grandfather had cast a spell on an old hand mirror to check on her at the hospital, in case Regina attempted to hurt her in retaliation for her mother's death.

Staring intently, her fingers gripping the polished wooden table, she focused on the mirror in the captain's quarters of the Jolly Roger. The outer edges of the mirror emitted a faint golden glow. Hearing the lock click broke her concentration.

Marcus walked over to the vanity table as she brushed her hair. "And here I thought I'd find you ready to bash in my head and sprint out the door. I'm glad that's not the case."

"Does that get me out of this room?"

"Not yet. I know it's frustrating but it's for your own safety. Everyone was hoping to get a good look at you at dinner but I thought it was best if it were a more private affair. It gives us time to talk."

A round table and two chairs appeared in the middle of the room, barely holding the weight of the many courses. She attempted to look uninterested but the growl of her stomach, enticed by the delicious smell, betrayed her. Thinking it was better to indulge him, she sat at the table and picked up a glass of sparkling water. She refused to eat a single bite until he had the first taste, wary that it could be poisoned or enchanted, but he was content with patiently watching her, leaving the food untouched.

"All your favorites. If you're afraid it's poisoned, it's not. I wouldn't go to all the trouble of bringing you here just to kill you with salad, Faye."

"Then why am I here? You're not trying to seduce me with all this crap...or maybe you are. I've seen Game of Thrones. Maybe that sort of thing is okay in fairytale land but I'm not down with it. I always saw myself as more of a Stark."

"Hardly," he said, with a quiet chuckle.

His hand reached for hers and though she wanted to move it away, she allowed it. Maybe letting him think he was winning her over would give her a better chance at escaping.

"You must have a million questions. Ask me anything."

"Okay," she said, lowering her glass. "You're saying we're somehow family. So what, did my dad fool around with some village girl before he fell through a portal?"

"We share the same mother. Everything you knew of her was a lie," he claimed, hearing her scoff of disbelief. "I'm sure she painted herself as the poor innocent victim in the dreamcatcher. The truth is that she wasn't from your land. She was from mine, Camelot. You've learned of her in your lessons at school. She's got quite the reputation."

He frowned when she burst into a fit of giggles. "You expect me to believe that my mom was the hot girl from Merlin. Morgan Le Fay...are you insane?"

"Is it even more ridiculous than finding out your grandfather is Rumplestiltskin? I would think you'd be more open-minded, considering all you've been through lately. Her name was Morgana. She went by Morgan when she left her life in Camelot behind, to stay hidden, and that other name was born from the stories of her travels across the realms. Everyone believed she was such a hero. The great Morgan Le Fay, saving villagers from terrifying monsters and tyrants and then disappearing into the night."

She was taken aback by the pure venom in his voice. How could someone so full of hatred be raised by the same woman that she remembered as compassionate and kind?

Her question was soon answered when Marcus revealed that her mother abandoned him moments after his birth. Solely focused on getting revenge against those who harmed her, she escaped Camelot through a portal and spent years traveling the realms. Her older brother, the great King Arthur, took Marcus under his wing, caring for him like a son, but the life of a loving family proved to be short-lived when he showed signs of magic.

Arthur recruited the greatest sorcerers to help him yet their efforts proved futile, his magic too great and unstable to control, due to his growing resentment towards his unknown mother. His hatred grew stronger when he learned of her adventures one night, shortly before his fifteenth birthday, eavesdropping on a conversation between Arthur and his fellow knights. It led to him nearly destroying an entire wing of the castle and that same night, he fled the kingdom.

"I had nothing, of course. Just a knapsack on my shoulder and the clothes on my back. I went from village to village, hoping to find some clue of her whereabouts, but she was like a ghost. People didn't even believe she was real, merely a myth...hearing them speak about her so glowingly made me sick. I told them the truth and they laughed at me, thought I was jealous. A few men decided I needed to be taught a lesson but before they could lay a hand on me, someone stopped them...your dear old grandfather."

"He saved you?"

He poured himself a glass of wine. "Just a quick flick of his wrist and they were turned into slugs. The terrifying Dark One, the monster of legend, saved me. It turned out that he knew our lovely mother, met her on her travels, and thought she was a true talent. He said he saw the same great promise in me and offered to teach me himself. It was the first time someone didn't look at me in fear since my abilities surfaced. He helped me get my magic under control, learn to do things that seemed impossible in my mind."

"But you're hiding from him. Otherwise, he'd recognize you in Storybrooke. What happened between you two?" She placed her other hand over his, giving it a light squeeze. "You can tell me."

"I thought he genuinely cared about me. He had told me his secrets, how he had lost his son by being too cowardly to give up his power...how he was desperate to get back to him. That's why he was so eager to teach me. He wanted me to cast the dark curse, to reunite them."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "He can see the future and he knew it was Regina. Well, he didn't know her name but you know what I mean."

"Yes, that's the version he told you but the truth is that he was impatient. He didn't want to wait centuries. He wanted to take a shortcut, change fate..."

At the time, Marcus was eager to prove himself, that he was worth her grandfather's teachings. He believed he could cast the curse with ease until he discovered one problem, the heart of the person he loved most.

Losing his mother had closed him off to such attachments and he could not think of a single person he felt that strongly towards, not even his uncle. When he expressed these doubts, it sent her grandfather into a rage and Marcus was then banished from the castle, once again forced to leave a place he considered home.

"I knew I disappointed him but apparently, throwing me out wasn't enough. He wanted me to suffer for ruining his plans so he sent one of his close associates, someone you've grown quite close to recently."

"Wh—pfft, you're lying. He and Melanie can't even stand being in the same room. Why would she help him?"

"They used to be thick as thieves, those two. She oversaw my lessons, tossed me around like a rag doll for her own enjoyment…torturing me was her favorite hobby. I suppose they found a common ground in being two outsiders. It was before their spat, before she was even sent away from the Underworld. I was working at a tavern in a nearby village when I saw her by the front door. I felt this sense of dread, that she was going to attack me but then she just left."

"And you went back to work?" she asked, knowing this story did not have a happy ending.

"A fire broke out and every door had been sealed by her magic. I tried to put out the fire but it was dark magic, a fire that could only be extinguished by her own hand. The entire tavern was destroyed in minutes, leaving nothing but a pile of bodies. She didn't care that innocent people lost their lives, just that I lost mine."

"But you didn't."

"No," he said, taking a sip from his glass. "I managed to shield myself from the flames, not well enough to escape completely unharmed but it kept me alive. It took all my strength not to cry from the pain but I did, watching her search through the wreckage, and I placed a glamour spell over another body, to make her think it was me. Once she was gone, the flames vanished and I slipped out the back door. I was too weak to heal myself but someone helped me."

His rescuer was the leader of a coven, one whose origins began in Camelot. Like him, she had been feared for her abilities and went into hiding, using the isolation to strengthen her power and grow the coven she considered a family. She was highly adept at magic, even unlocking the secret to immortality and granting it to a few select members. Her coven had watched over Marcus his entire life, believing him to be destined for greatness.

"She wants to help you, just as she did with me."

"Why would I want that? Was this whole story supposed to make me believe that you're the victim? I'm sorry that my grandfather screwed you over but instead of being the better person, you're a hypocrite. You hated that my—our mother abandoned you for revenge but when she had you, she wasn't that much younger than me. Teenagers don't make the best decisions and maybe Camelot didn't have the best support system."

"Of course you'd make excuses for her. It's hard for you to see the truth about the woman you thought was so perfect."

"Maybe she thought leaving you with Arthur was your best chance at a good life because she was too blinded by that need for vengeance. Being a teen mom wasn't enough for her to—"

"You were enough." His fingers dug into her skin. "When Regina cast her curse, I added a little something, allowing me to not lose my memories. It let me leave the town whenever I pleased, not that she ever noticed. One day, I decided to visit a popular bakery in New Orleans. I watched the woman behind the counter for hours, the same in portraits all over the castle I grew up in as a boy. She shared my dark hair and gray eyes."

Her mother was oblivious to his presence, due to a spell that made him invisible. He had followed her into a back room, expecting to find potions or piles of spell books. Instead, it was an ordinary room with baking ingredients and supplies.

"I told myself it was all an act, that she couldn't just be some simple baker. All that glory she gained in the Enchanted Forest but she threw it away for a life where magic was believed to be nothing but fantasy? Then the door opened and a little girl came running in with her polka dot rain boots and matching coat. Everyone adored her but no one as much as her mother."

"Why did you hide? Why put yourself through the torture of pretending that you were some mechanic in Storybrooke? You could've left that all behind. We could've been a family."

"I admire your optimism but you have it because we lived very different lives, Faye. If you were in my place, you would've ended up the same as me." He slipped one of the home office cuffs on her wrist. "It's a precaution. You think I didn't notice the magic you attempted on the mirror?"

"Wh—I didn't—"

"This is where you truly belong. Once you accept that, I'll remove the cuff permanently and we can begin your lessons. I can't wait to teach—what are you doing?"

Faye began to hold her breath, a method she perfected at the age of four. She had practiced so often that she was able to do it for an abnormally long time, useful when she did not get her way. Though she rarely used it against her father these days, it seemed to unsettle Marcus.

"Stop doing that. I swore I wouldn't use magic on you but I'm not fond of this little stunt." She responded with a steely glare. "Faye, that's enough. You're not a child. If you think I'm playing this game, you're wrong. I've dealt with far worse—I said enough!"

His glass broke in half, leaving shattered pieces on his plate. Faye released her breath as the cuff fell from her wrist. Acting as if nothing happened, she took a bite of the cauliflower rice.

"Mmm, this is good." Marcus was silent, his fingers wrapped around the cracked glass. "Something wrong? You shouldn't waste food. As co-president of the environmental club, I'm gonna have to give you a stormy cloud sticker."

Days passed and her room began to feel more like a prison. Marcus and only a select few members of The Haven, Amelia and Nick's twitchy friend Wes included, were allowed to visit her, though only he could spend more than a few minutes. She used her charm to her advantage, to get to know them better in those short moments without him.

Wes, being the youngest, easily opened up to her, revealing that his parents were devout members of the coven, he had been born in the land without magic, like her, and his twitchiness was due to a drug that enhanced his abilities. His father forced him to take the drug daily, to prove his worth to the coven, despite the side effects.

Another interesting tidbit was that the rings each member of The Haven wore allowed them to use their magic, even in this realm where it was scarce. Without the rings, their magic became extremely limited. The head of the coven, never referred to by her actual name, held weekly competitions, for the lesser members to fight amongst themselves to get one step closer to their own rings.

Wes entered the room, carrying a tray of bagels and orange juice. "I know it's earlier than usual but everyone's in a meeting. It sounded serious so they'll be in the main chamber for hours."

"What's it about?" she asked, biting into a bagel.

"No idea. My parents never tell me anything but Marcus didn't look happy. Not that he ever does, except when he's around you. He still hasn't let you out of here yet?"

"Nope, still on lockdown. It's like he thinks I'll turn into Wonder Woman," she joked, a tiny cough escaping her lips. As if I could beat up a guy who's been practicing magic for centuries. He could kick my—"

Her cough turned into a full on fit. She covered her mouth, struggling to catch a single breath.

"You okay?" asked Wes, sensing something was wrong.

"Yeah, I just—" She glanced down at the tray. "What's on these bagels?"

"Um strawberry jam. I was trying to sneak around the kitchens so I just grabbed the first thing I saw."

"I'm like super allergic to strawberries."

"Wh—I didn't—he never said—" He helped her off the bed. "I'm so sorry. We need to get him. Can you walk? I could just transport us right to the main chamber but if we interrupt a meeting, my mother will literally crush my heart. We could—"

Wes was silenced with a blow to the head. Faye stepped over his body, the metal tray in her hands.

"Sorry, Wes. Once I'm back in Storybrooke, I'll find a way to get you out of here too."

As she slipped through the door, careful not to make a sound, she found herself in the middle of a lavish hallway. She could hardly get a good look at her surroundings when alarm bells blared and the two knight statues across from her sprung to life. Turning on her heel, she sprinted down the hallway, the sound of clanking metal not far behind.

She stopped herself at the end of the hallway, seeing clouds of different colored smoke. A dozen people, Amelia among them, appeared as the smoke cleared. Keeping herself hidden behind the wall, she eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Remember, no harm comes to her," said one of the men, who looked like an older Wes in an expensive suit instead of a classic rock shirt. "Only use force if necessary but don't provoke her. He was foolish not to keep that cuff on her wrist."

"She doesn't know how to use her magic, Damon. She's harmless," defended Amelia.

"He says she's clever. Who knows what she's seen the Dark One do in that small town? I'm not taking any chances and neither should you. She can't have gotten far. We'll split up and whoever grabs her, send a signal and we'll all meet back in the main chamber."

"All the doors are sealed so she'll be easy to find. She doesn't know her way around this place."

As Wes's father and a bald, burly man moved closer to her hiding place, she gripped the wall tightly, unsure of how to get out of this mess. She suddenly felt as if she was leaning on nothing but air and landed on a soft red carpet. Her fingers brushed against the solid wall and for a moment, they slipped through, as if she turned into a ghost.

"Whoa."

Above her was a picture of her mother, several darts in her face. The jagged edges reminded her of one of the photos in her family album, taken the day of her fourth birthday. It only contained her and her father yet her mother's hand was on her shoulder. He always blamed the missing piece on a faulty camera.

The entire room seemed to be an odd shrine to her mother, with pictures, flyers made of old parchment paper, newspaper clippings, and maps decorating the walls. There were even pictures of her when she was just a teenager, dressed in an outfit reminiscent of the drawings in Henry's book. The map covered every inch of the wall, showing more than just the land without magic. Each realm had tiny x's, along with various messages scrawled in red ink in reference to her whereabouts or some accomplishment like slaying a dragon in Wonderland.

While most of the pictures were of her mother, she noticed some of herself and her father, though his face had been singed off, at all sorts of places, from her own apartment to soccer games. She grabbed one of the pictures, recognizing the party Sophie had thrown for her sweet sixteen.

"You looked beautiful that night." Marcus was leaning against the door. "Like a princess. You could've been a real one in Camelot. The entire kingdom would've adored you."

Faye attempted to conjure a fireball but her hand remained empty. Going for a second option, she grabbed a chair that quickly disintegrated into dust.

"This is exactly why you need the cuff until you've learned control, Faye. If you didn't stop yourself, you could've fallen straight through to—"

"How did you get these? Or that one of my mother?" she asked, pointing at the torn photo on the wall. "Were you in our house?"

"No. I didn't want to blow my cover in Storybrooke so I had someone from the coven keep an eye on you."

She remembered the odd man on the bus, the day she met Henry, Emma, and her grandfather showed up in New York. It was not the only instance where she had an uneasy feeling around someone.

"You mean stalk me."

"Can you blame me for wanting to be part of your life?" he asked, with a shrug. "It killed me to be separated from you. I had to constantly stop myself from just walking up to you on the playground and telling you the truth. I should've done it so you could see the truth about our mother…the monster she really was beneath that perfect facade. I was nothing to her. Even when she was about to die, she only cared about you."

"W—what are you talking about? We got in a bad car accident and she died in the hospital. You weren't there."

His eyes darkened. "It was foolish of me to keep visiting. I didn't want Regina to suspect anything but I couldn't help it. Every time I watched your perfect family, it drove me mad. You were supposed to be in preschool but she decided to have a girl's day out. You were on your way to the zoo, your favorite place, and I was close behind when I just couldn't take it anymore. I used a little spell to drive you off the road. She could've healed herself instantly but all she cared about was you in the backseat. You were unconscious, a few scrapes but nothing horrible."

"Stop." The edges of the picture burned, erasing half of Sophie's face. "Stop talking."

"Faye, Faye, please wake up. Sweetie, just open your eyes," he said, mockingly. "I yanked her back with the snap of my fingers. When she saw me, she knew exactly who I was, which I admittedly did not expect. She was keeping tabs on us just as much as we were watching her. I waited for her to beg for her life, to be spared for her mistakes but all she wanted was for you to be safe. I waited for an apology but all she said was 'Don't hurt Faye' over and over."

"No, she died at the hospital. She had internal bleeding," she mumbled, not willing to believe that her mother was murdered by her supposed half-brother.

"I used magic to create a duplicate. Her actual body was swallowed whole by the ground, mere inches from your car. Listening to her gasp for air was truly—"

The door split in half as Marcus went flying through it. Climbing through the massive hole, she had one thing on her mind: making him suffer. Marcus began to lift himself up from the pristine white carpet but with a twitch of her nose, he slammed into the ceiling and back into the floor several times.

A freshly manicured hand wrapped around her throat, like a python squeezing its prey. It belonged to a middle-aged woman, her graying ebony hair tied back into a tight bun. With her blazer, pencil skirt, and heels, she could easily blend into the streets of Manhattan. Her smile, not fully reaching her pitch black eyes, was more unsettling than comforting.

"Aren't you a treat?"

Faye expected a nasty tone but instead, her voice had a melodic quality, her accent the same as Marcus's but more refined. He stood up, wiping the blood from his lips.

"It was my fault. Please don't hurt her," he begged, lowering his head. "I'm the one who provoked her. I shouldn't have—"

He continued to speak but there was no sound. "Enough of your whining. I never should have trusted you with this. That's your first lesson, little dove. The only one you can rely on is yourself because others, especially pathetic little boys, will always disappoint."

One second, she was dangling in the air, feeling like she might black out at any moment, and the next, she was in another bedroom, three times the size of hers. As the woman released her grip, leaving Faye panting on the floor, she sauntered over to the vanity table and drank from a vial of green liquid. The grays, along with the wrinkles in her face, vanished, giving her a more youthful, vaguely familiar appearance.

"You're Ann Wynn." She stopped admiring herself in the mirror, turning towards Faye. "I remember you from the career fair last year. You're the head of Avalon Corp. Were you even trying for subtlety or you just don't have the brains to come up with something else?"

"Faye, st—"

"No need for that," the woman said, quieting Marcus by just raising her finger. "I quite enjoy a little fire. Such a nice break from the tedium of groveling and pleasantries. It's good to have someone with some semblance of intelligence around. You can call me Mim, darling. Come along now. We have business to attend to in the city."

Changing into a crisp dark blue suit with a slight twitch of his nose, Marcus placed his hands on the full length mirror on the wall. The glass shimmered, now showing the inside of a limousine instead of a reflection of the room. Mim glanced down at Faye, who remained on the floor still reeling from the last few minutes.

"Can't have you trying to figure out where we are, can we? Up you get."

Marcus was visibly upset when she recoiled at his extended hand and after throwing him a nasty look, she stepped through the mirror. The drive consisted of ten long minutes of uncomfortable silence, with Faye resisting every urge to do a tuck and roll out of the car and Marcus solemnly staring at the floor. The car finally stopped at building that resembled the town hall in Storybrooke.

Mim did not even bother stopping at the receptionist desk. She walked straight past all of the security guards, many of them lowering their heads in fear, and up the winding stairs until they were in front of a door, Mayor Joseph Caldwell written on a gold plaque. Without a single knock, she stepped into the office.

A young man in his mid twenties, surrounded by several papers, looked up from his desk. Judging by his confused expression, he was not expecting any visitors. The woman beside him nearly dropped the folder in her trembling hands.

"A spitting image of your father. I'm sure you will do just as good of a job as him. Oh, no need to stand, Joseph. This won't take long."

"Miss Wynn, isn't it?" he asked, taken aback by her bold tone. "Forgive me but I don't recall any meetings with you today."

"I tend to show up when I want but by that look on your face, your lovely assistant hasn't briefed you on everything." She pouted at the woman. "I expect better of you, Isabel. You've always known to follow the rules."

"If you're simply here to berate my staff, this conversation is over. I won't tolerate it. I suggest you leave," he said, nodding towards the door. "Whatever business you want, we can discuss it when you learn respect."

Mim laughed, only angering him more. "You may have the title of mayor but the one with the real power is me. Anything you wish to do, no matter how small, goes through me first. This staff of yours is under my employ, not yours. Why do you think I was able to come up here without an appointment? Because they know the truth."

"Isabel, call security to escort Miss Wynn out." She stayed behind the desk, stiff as a board. "Isabel."

"Oh, she won't move unless I allow it."

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a glowing heart. Marcus immediately pinned Faye's arms behind her back, quietly warning her to not interfere with 'business'. Caldwell was oblivious to the threat until Mim squeezed the heart, causing his assistant to cry out in pain.

"W—what is this?" he asked, thinking he had lost his mind. "How did you—"

"As I said, I'm the one with the real power. Your father was stubborn like you once but he quickly learned his place and I'm sure you will too. All I have to do is squeeze and poor Isabel is in excruciating pain. Surely you don't want that."

"S—stop it." Ignoring his pleas, she squeezed the heart again. "What do you want?"

"To show you the truth. The only reason you're in this office is because I allow it. Step out of bounds and you'll end up like your father. Is that understood?"

He nodded, holding onto his teary-eyed assistant. She released a shaky breath when Mim placed the heart back in her purse.

"Excellent. I look forward to seeing you at the charity event tonight. It's going to be quite the affair. All for my newest protégé," she said, lightly patting a disgusted Faye's cheek.

Upon returning to The Haven, Faye was taken back to her room. Several dresses, admittedly beautiful and expensive, had been laid out on her bed.

"Aren't they lovely?" Faye stood by the door, her arms crossed. "Not to your liking? That's why we have magic. You can choose another, if you wish. Just think and it will appear."

"I'm not going to your stupid party."

"There's no party without the guest of honor," she said, picking up one of the gowns. "Oh, I know that face. Your mother wore it often. She enjoyed defying me."

"Oh, she saw through you too? You think you're so great, using your magic to scare innocent people, but you're a fraud." Mim's fingers curled tightly around the dress, tearing into the fabric. "My grandfather's more powerful than you. My girlfriend could kick your ass without breaking a sweat. You're not even immortal. You just use some potion to hide your real self, an ugly hag with—"

A leather whip coiled around her throat, bringing her to her knees. Her face was soon buried into the carpet.

"Now I truly see her in you." She bent down beside Faye, her dark eyes narrowed. "I have no problem leaving you in this room like a caged little bird. No food, no water, no visits from your dear brother…and eventually, this teenage rebellion act won't seem so smart and just like your mother, you'll break."

At a quarter to eight, she heard a soft knock. "Faye, please don't be difficult. Mim doesn't like us to be late."

She opened the door to Marcus, in a black tux and his hair slicked back with gel. His eyes grew wide at the sight of her revealing, floor-length dress, dark red with a low cut in the front and high slit up the thigh.

"Change now."

"Is something wrong?" she asked, acting clueless.

"I know you're doing this to get a rise out of Mim but angering her will only make things worse."

"No idea what you're talking about. I just didn't like any of her choices and she said I could pick out my own outfit."

He pursed his lips. "Faye, if you don't change this instant—"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir." Wes was standing behind him, nervously running his hands through his hair. "I was told to escort Faye to the party. Is everything okay?"

"It's great. You look so handsome, Wes," she said, looping her arm through his. "Do you like my dress?"

He refrained from answering under Marcus's harsh graze. They headed to an enormous ballroom that put her Winter Wonderland dance from junior year to shame. The room was already filled with guests, though Faye doubted all of them were in the coven.

"You look beautiful tonight, princess."

Wes's compliment distracted her from the extravagant decorations. He flashed her a mischievous smile and for the briefest second, his eyes turned from hazel to green.

"Thanks, cupcake."


End file.
